My Life as a Background Actor

Thanks for joining me and reading about my life as a background actor.  My goal for this blog is to offer advice on being an extra, receive advice on being an extra, and finally, to log my experiences.  Someday, I’ll read this and say, “Wow! I remember that!

The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.     Michelangelo

My Life as a Background Actor

So I began this journey back in June, 2018 at Wrigley Field, one of my all time favorite places.  There’s nothing like Wrigley in the summer!  So when I was hired to play a baseball fan, I was pretty excited.  I had no idea what to expect but went with an open mind.  The weather was gorgeous and since my husband and I go there on a regular basis, I knew exactly where to go and where to park.  Yes, when you work as an extra they provide parking!  At no cost to you!  After parking, I grabbed my wardrobe bag and headed to the park.

And there was a huge line!  Yep, my first ever background job was with about 300 other extras.  The check in process went pretty smoothly and I was impressed how quickly they were able to get us all through.  What I didn’t realize before I went was that we all had different call times (the time you are supposed to check in).  Mine was the latest at 11:30 am, which I thought was great as I’m not a morning person.  But at the end of the night, they checked everyone out in the same order so I was one of the last to leave at 10:00 pm.  Hey, at least I earned some overtime on my first job.

So Much to Learn

I learned so much that first day.  It took a lot of asking questions of the more experienced extras, listening to them discussing the job, and observing all that was going on.  I filled out my first voucher.  The voucher is a form where you put your information such as name, social security number, date, etc.  At the end of the night, you return that voucher, they write your ending time, and give you back one of the carbon copies.  That is how you get paid.  No voucher, no pay.  Glad I didn’t lose it that first day!

I had signed up with one casting company, 4 Star Casting, already but through listening I found out about other ones to follow.  Basically, you follow them on Facebook and submit for a job when you see something that is appropriate for you.  Now, five months later, all of my jobs except three have been with 4 Star.  Click here to find out more about them.  You will need to create a POP profile and keep it up to date if you want to find jobs.  I still have so much more to learn.  Hopefully, I’ll keep getting more and more tips and tricks of the trade as I go along and can post them here.

Contact Me

Thanks for reading about my life as a background actor.  I have a lot more to tell and will be updating frequently.  If you are interested in doing this or more importantly, if you already do and have advice, please contact me here.  I have so much more to learn.