04.06.07
Working As A Movie Extra Should You Do It?
There are two strong cases here, one for and one against. You will have to decide on the route to take and then stick with it 100%. If you take any other option then you are hurting your career.
Established actors should NEVER in any circustamce take a job as an extra, even if you need the money, you are basically telling the agents and directors that you will work for cheap, this will come to bear on any future negotiations. In non union jobs you may find yourself hired as an Extra but then asked to say a few lines (ie acting for Extra pay).
However as a beginning actor the rules are much different.
Either you can take the Extras work to meet people and make contacts, also to gain experience of being on set, as well as collecting the pay.
Or you can avoid Extras work as you are an Actor / Actress, this follows my personal belief given to me by Michael Caine - take a job for the role offered and not the money - it will be better for your future in the long run.
BENEFITS OF TAKING EXTRAS ROLES
As an Extra you get to work a lot more often, there are more extra jobs available than acting roles and you do not cast for Extras, you just turn up as a part of the crowd.
So as an Extra you should get listed with as many agents as you can and take as many acting lessons as you can, also work on being friendly and personable especially on set. Meet as many people as you can, make as many friends as you can.
When on a movie set it is vitally important as an Extra to be on the ball all the time, be enthusiastic, be the first to any call, be upbeat, but mostly listen toinstructions from the director carefully and do exactly as he asks (unless you think you can add a little extra flair - but not too much).
I have time and time again seen a Director swearing at Extras ineptitude. Many Extras get this ego where they think they are Hollywood Stars and act like it on and off set. Keep away from these people, they talk big but they are on the bottom rung, and likely to fall off.
Find others who are bright and keen, associate with these types of Extras.
The Director will notice if you can do some minor acting and do your role well, you will be placed in front of the other less enthusiastic Extras and may be called upon to upgrade to a Featured Extra or a minor Acting Role. In fact one friend went into a TV studio as an Extra and came out 2 hours later with an offer to full time employment on a ongoing weekly Police Drama for TV.
You can advance from being an Extra and this is the one thing you have to keep in mind the whole time you are working as one - move ahead, do well, act my role get a better part (and pay).
Many Actors / Actresses have taken this path to a successful acting career. Once you start getting acting roles you will have to stop any further Extra work - it has served it’s purpose now step up a level.
THE BENEFITS OF NOT TAKING EXTRAS ROLES
This is the theory that I subscribe to, I first learned this when reading a book by famous actor Michael Cain.
If you take a job as an Extra then you are labelled as an Extra, it is going to take a lot of work to step up to the next level as an Actor.
Michael Cain says to take a job based on the merits of the role, it is better to take a Lead Actor role in a ‘B’ movie and get paid less than take a role as a Featured Extra in an ‘A’ movie that pays more.
The idea is that when a Director or Agent sees your CV and your experience as Lead Actor, Lead Actor, Lead Actor then you are going to be cast as a Lead Actor in future. This is of course the ultimate aim in this game.
Since this is the ultimate goal why not start out by trying to achieve it, why not start out getting the experience in that particular role, why not try to be a big success from the start?
So to get labelled as a Lead Actor saves the time building the reputation and it only takes one reasonable performance in a decent movie for that to be your role from then on.
The only problem is that we all have to start somewhere and it depends on your ambitions, your confidence and your personality. I have taken Featured Extra roles in TV Commercials before because the pay is good and it is just 1 or 2 days shooting, I needed the experience and back then it was a part time job that paid well but infrequently - I was not so serious about my acting career.