Actors: Should you do Extra Work?

Depending on your career goals, doing extra work may or may not be in your best interest. Watch this week's video to understand some of the nuances of when it might or might not be appropriate for your career.

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#actorslife #backgroundwork #extras

[aulioivan]

I started my career in the US this year. Never underestimate a role or any opportunities to be on set. You'll be able to show your work ethic, meet colleagues, and initiate a relationship with casting and other departments. I got an opportunity to be BG in production in my city and end up having two scenes as a co-star and got paid as CS. My scenes stand out, the director loves me, and casting booked me for another gig. Doesn't matter where you think your career is, this is not linear and sometimes opportunities are back on the "lowest level".

[josephjenkins]

"Always assume a posture of learning." I love that advice.

[w.m.aslam-author]

In the U.K. we call ourselves ‘support artist’. I’ve been working as a support artist since 2017. I’ve worked on mainly TV dramas and commercials, but I also hope to get work in film. I’ve completed an acting course with a local theatre company. My main motivation is to learn about writing for TV, film, and the actor. I have always been treated well by the crew and producers. I’ve also started writing scripts for the stage. I’m going with the flow.

[kaylastraker-trotman]

Yes, to the stark difference in certain locations if you do extra work! It is so weird when I do background acting where I live because it's so different from how I'm treated in Toronto and Montréal. It is a night and day experience because I'm fine if I'm in Montréal or Toronto because they keep the same energy in whatever I do even if I'm just visiting someone on set.

[philipfuller]

Ruthie Cohen was background on Seinfeld and got lines later on in the series .

[tommcilwain]

Matt, I just found this channel and am going down the rabbit hole. Great content. Lots of great tips. 👍

[crystalgrose]

I absolutely loved doing extra work in the mid 90’s ♥️

[OlgaKuznetsova]

The tip of being careful with tv shows is spot on! Earlier in my career, I did BG for one of the very few ongoing independent tv shows in my area and I've been unable to audition for some of the roles for the show once I moved up to speaking roles :(

[robodobro]

Sometimes I worry about doing too much BG work, but i'm still within my first year of acting. It is making my resume stand out, even though established actors don't list BG, its ok to add it if you are new. I know of several cases though of non union actors doing BG on a union job and getting a bump for a featured or speaking role.. so yes, it does happen.

[bjwieland-doucet]

These days, most BG are getting $125+/day + cars & Covid tests. There's still some productions who aren't paying well but very few.
I do BG work but choose to work the "stadium/cattle calls" to make money & not have to worry about ruining my cred. In my age bracket, there are limited "subsistence gigs" for us actors.

[luvlyerdj]

I made 2100 for 3 days of commercial bg work last December. How much union commercial work is there in Atlanta?

[davidmoskowitz]

Being a background extra is like being in prison: You’re on set for 9-12 hours a day. Everybody bosses you around. You can’t do what you want, when you want to. You get your free meals. The guards are: the production assistants, second assistant director, and the second-second assistant director. But the inmates are not violent, thankfully. And you can shoot the shit, or use your cell phone, to keep yourself occupied for many hours. Get paid minimum wage (if you’re non-union). You get a prison uniform in the form of wardrobe. AND YOUR PRISON sentence is one day, or a few days depending on your “recall days.”

[robodobro]

The average actor makes $7k a year, 90% of actors are unemployed on any given day. Smaller markets don't see the union gigs as often. I think FICORE and taking whatever union BG you can get is the smartest thing you can do all while working other acting jobs....BG definitely helped me get my foot in the door, but i also put in a ton more effort than the "average" BG actor. good video still.

[terijane]

I was an extra in a Coca-Cola commercial, was upgraded to principal, and still get residuals. Work is work.

[kaylastraker-trotman]

"If you enjoy it." 😂😂🤣🤣 If I didn't see too much, I probably would like it like I used too.

[NoteFromSELF]

I think the 3 voucher rule should be gone and replaced with a certain number of nonunion background work. I've seen third ADs and PAs use vouchers for nefarious reasons.