As per request by Equipoise, here is a thread about being an extra in films/television and commercials (so we can finally stop hijacking Ale’s thread.
In LA, my SO and I signed up for extra work when we both found ourselves unemployed. He did it far longer than I did, and has some great stories, but we both did it long enough to appreciate the good, and bad, of being an extra. (Most of the following was cut and pasted from the other thread, with a few additional comments.)
You usually have to be there at the crack of dawn, wait for costumes and makeup, then wait for the director to call you, then get about 2 minutes of direction, a couple of run throughs, then wait for the lead actors to re-learn lines that had been re-written, wait for them to walk through the script, then a quick rehearsal, then - end of 12 hour day and back tomorrow for more of the same. In a film, you were lucky to be on camera a minute or two…for television, it was all leading up to the Friday taping(s) of the show (sitcoms) before a live audience.
All of that for about $50-$70 a day, plus some VERY good food.
The only way you actually made money doing it was because you were spending every waking minute on the set and didn’t have time to spend a nickel during the shoot.
And when it is all over, you can shout for joy to your friends, “look, that is my elbow next to Kelsey Grammer!”
Being an extra can be fun, but you really have to be fully unemployed and have lots and lots of time on your hands. It is also the only type of agency where you have to pay money to make money - initially. Most extra agencies, at least in LA, charge you when you first go there - only fair as they have to take photos and put you in a database and if you are a flake, sign up and then go take a full time job and become unavailable the next day, they have useless photos on hand and a useless phone number. It used to cost about $35 to register, but don’t know what it costs now. They are not scams, just covering their ass.
At any rate, once you are listed sometimes they call you especially if you are a real “type”. If you are very tall, or very fat, or very odd looking, or can do gymnastics, can speak a different language, have scars, have a shaved head - you get the idea. They don’t always want the “normal” looking people and you might luck out and be exactly what they are looking for to fill a larger part.
However, 95% of the time it is up to you to call in every afternoon to see what is available the next day and this is very important. In this business, persistance is a must - you have to call, and call, and call - don’t miss a single day. This helps you get on their good lists, meaning someone who is available, and suddenly you might get a phone call from a hysterical agent at 10:00 pm begging you to be on the set at 5:00 AM tomorrow for a shoot half way across town. Do it! Then you will have a big “in” for the next time you want something. Those casting directors wield a lot of power, so if they like you and you have done them a favor, you can get some cushy assignments! Sometimes when you call in those lists were quite funny to hear - “we need 35 Asians who can play violin and will agree to having their hair dyed blonde”…“we need biker types with tattoos on legally exposed body parts”…“looking for people who speak Italian and can juggle…”…sometimes people got lucky - some extra roles turn into bit speaking parts (WAY more money and a SAG card!!!)…some sitcoms (and a few dramas) have a stable of extras who get a regular gig the entire season, so you have a season’s worth of work guaranteed. Once, I got paid an extra $40 for them to park my car on a fake NY street on the lot and put mud on it (they later washed my car for free). You meet a lot of interesting people - but as mentioned, for the most part it is hurry up and wait and really, really long hours - forget any personal life during your gig. Oh, and usually you are required to bring three sets of your own clothes with you for shows set in the present, depending on the show (obviously not when it is a period piece). If you are a guy, it helps if you own a tux – as a lot of films/television shows have “fancy parties” and they want people to have the clothes for the part. Women need formal dresses.
However, I strongly urge anyone who is retired, who might have some kind of physical handicap or look different than most people to sign up! They like to have interesting characters on file. But even if they don’t specifically ask for you, you will be amazed how often they just need bodies to be in the background and if you ain’t got nothin’ else to do, this could be a nice steady source of income - especially once you get a reputation at one of those agencies as being reliable. You won’t get rich, but who knows, you might get a speaking part and then anything could happen.
I was in about 4 sitcoms and two films, my SO was in about 20 sitcoms and I think at least 5 films, if not more. He had the longest on screen time (in an episode of Frazier, the one where Frazier starts going to Roz’s favorite British bar) and is constantly in the background at the bar.
The busy time for sitcoms and television starts about mid summer and goes until November – films are pretty much year-round. And as mentioned, you get to meet a lot of interesting people – the extras are usually wannabe actors (although not all of them) and you usually get to meet quite a few famous actors, but they seldom have time to really chat much and you are told to leave them alone unless spoken to – which is only fair as you will see just how hard it is for them constantly learning new lines, new direction and add to that the stress of carrying a show – well, they aren’t always in the best of moods so probably wise to steer clear.
All of the info above was based on experience in LA - I have no idea the quality, and frequency, of work in Chicago, NY, Arizona, Seattle, etc. It is also up to you to verify if the agency is legit - there are a lot of scams out there so beware - you really shouldn’t pay for anything more than the initial photos, if that (there are no additional charges for you to be in the films - that money is paid by the producers to the agencies). The best approach is to probably call the local chapter of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and ask which extra agency or agencies are the biggest and best in your area.
Feel free to add any info if you were an extra, or if you have questions, post them and I, or someone who has been there, can try to answer.
Unfortunately, they cut my 8 seconds out (we saw the pre-release). My daughter had a blast, even though she was admonished for picking up the wrong produce in her “grocery store” scene (she wanted bananas, not apples). My wife was on cloud-9 for a week because she got to touch Travolta. The only one that I touched was Salma Hayek’s dog…well, technically, he touched me, the horny mutt. The pay stunk, but it was worth the effort.