Being an extra on a film kind of sucks

You wouldn't know it by meeting me, but I've been in a bunch of a films. I'm not on IMDB and you won't find my name in the credits because I am one of the people that almost never had any lines (I had 3, once) and for the most part, you are of little consequence as far as being a character is concerned. Someone has to fill the background in all those movies though, and I have done it for some extra cash and a chance to meet some stars many times in the past.

I most likely will never do it again though, because it really isn't a great experience nor does it pay very well.

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I got started as an extra when I was in Wilmington, North Carolina for work, and saw an add for extras needed on a set. They didn't even say what kind of film it was or who was in it. It did pay several hundred dollars per day though. While that might not seem like a lot of money to people it did to me at that point in my life so I figured what the hell, I'll do it!

This is where the hell kind of begins though. Normally the directors want the extras to be there before almost anyone else in order to rush you through makeup and costume departments where you are basically treated like cattle depending on how up their own ass the people who are working on these films are. Slight missteps in a process that you are not familiar with will get you shouted at and it doesn't feel very glamorous. They also don't put a great deal of effort into insuring that you are at all comfortable or even in an area with temperature control.

As an extra you will need to try your best to find a comfortable place to sit somewhere on set because a vast majority of your time will be spent doing absolutely nothing. Back when I got involved basically everyone smoked and this is how you would pass the time. I would imagine that you probably aren't allowed to do that anymore.

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Ricky Gervais did a fantastic job representing what it is like to be an extra in a film or TV show in his show called Extras. Everyone who is an extra has this grand dream that they are going to be discovered like Harrison Ford but honestly, this doesn't ever happen. Mostly you are treated as though you are not even there.

Every now and then the stars will mingle with the extras and this is pretty neat. I only ever met one seriously big name and that was when I was in a Matthew Broderick film. He isn't really all the big anymore but he was at the time. He was a very down to earth person. I had the misfortune of meeting Matthew McConaughey on a set once and while he is a fantastic actor, the way that he treated the extras like a pain in the ass and beneath him was pretty awful.

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I actually thought I had caught my "big break" when an assistant director that I had been on set with a few times and had a few laughs with at the wrap parties stepped me up into a role where I was going to be a driver of a SWAT team HumVee and also had a few lines. This would mean that I would get a pay rise and also be in the credits. However, already washed up star Tom Wopat (Luke from Dukes of Hazzard) decided at the last minute that he wanted to drive the car and my role was completely eliminated. I ended up not really mattering that much because the film was seriously terrible and it never even went to TV or streaming services. It doesn't appear on Tom's filmography page either.

These days, now that I am far more financially secure than I was back then, I would probably never do this sort of work ever again. A couple of hundred dollars for mostly sitting around seems like a great idea until you are doing it.

Have you ever worked in films? I know at least one of our members does that for a living. Forgot you name though, sorry!