The mood was relaxed and we talked with nothing louder than a bold whisper. A few metres away Tom Hanks and Audrey Tatou acted out their dialogue as the camera rolled along its rails capturing the room’s inhabitants with its wide and keen eye.
The director was Ron Howard and the film was The Da Vinci Code. I was a background actor in the controversial Hollywood blockbuster and have been in a few other films since then. What does it take to get onto a film set as an extra? Well surprisingly, not much.
The main route is through a casting agency. I googled the top ten casting agencies in London and approached the top five. I then enrolled with two that got back to me. Enrolling new actors usually only happens once a year.
Depending on the volume of work you are hoping for, it might be best to enrol with a few agencies, as extras work does not come fast and frequent. This will also help you get different types of work as some agencies may focus on films, whilst others focus on TV or adverts. Extras work usually suits people who are flexible and can make the odd day of filming and also don’t rely on this as their main income. The more categories you can put yourself in, primarily, the different types of ordinary people you can pose as, the more chance of getting work. Some examples include being a pet owner, having a nurse’s costume, a business suit, or a biker’s outfit (with a motorcycle). This allows you to fill specific requests that may come through from the casting directors.
The pay is usually good, more so on the major productions, where The Da Vinci Code earned me just over £150 for the day. The one drawback is that it usually takes about three months for your cheque to come through. Considering that being an extra mainly consists of doing wardrobe and make-up upon arrival, followed by breakfast and lots of waiting around until it’s time for your scene to be filmed, this is easy money. Particularly if you are a patient individual who enjoys a good book or meeting like-minded people. Filming days are usually long, going on for more than twelve hours at times. Not a bad way to earn some cash and work alongside some of today’s biggest film and TV stars.
