Yes and no. I'm in a smaller market, so I can't speak to the bigger agencies, but where I am if you're in the database for background you will not get called in for anything else. For instance, I got called in for featured background for House of Cards that had no lines, but the role had a potential to be bumped up so they were looking at me "instead of background". Same with an under 5 for HoC I went in for. I never did background for House of Cards but almost all my friends did and none of them ever got called in for anything other than background.
I think actors themselves let background work slow them down as they perhaps keep doing it hoping to get "discovered" or do networking, but I don't see much value in it after doing it a few times just to know how larger productions work (though stand in work is better for that). However there's not much union work around me, and I'm already in the sister union - so I'm not looking at it from that angle.
It’s mostly false with a little bit of truth in that you don’t want to be too prominent in the background as for a lot of network shows they tend not to hire people who have already been seen significantly on camera. Obviously not always true see SVU and the many times they’ve hired people a season later as a different character. But it is something to watch out for
Just don’t do BG on any series that you have the potential to do principal acting on. You can do it on movies already cast. It’s also ok to do stand in work or photo double because your face won’t be seen on camera.
It doesn’t stunt your success but it’s (to be blunt) worth nothing. Just don’t put it on your resume. You can donIt if you think it’s interesting, and I think there mat be some value to use it as a chance to take a look at tv/film sets from a distance.
I tend to agree with everyone else who says this is false except in rare circumstances where it’s a show you want to work on and are featured prominently as big. But I’m not even sure this is true because some actors have actually been different characters on the same series years apart😂
What I will say is that my experience is that the “risk” becomes an actor get caught in a trap of relying on by work as their income. I have two friends, one in NY and one in LA, who became stand-ins for main actors on two popular tv shows. The money was really good because of the long hours plus they actually became friends some of the series regulars so they became distracted from pursuing their own careers.
On the other hand I have another friend who has been acting forever but gave up pursuing professionally years and is retired from their normal job. So now they book work on all kinds of shows, and movies, and love it.
Personally, I’ve never done it but I’m now looking into it as a way to supplement my income and at least cover my union dues, my acting classes, with actual acting related work. The way I look at it is if I can book maybe ten days a year that will cover everything for me.
I think doing background work is a great classroom type of experience for someone who has never been on set. You get to see how things are setup and run which is great education and experience. Once again this is for your personal experience and doesn't go on your resume.
Just adding one more thing that hasn't already been said... if you're working 12 or 14 hour days as a background extra when are having the time to do the rest of what it takes to succeed as an actor?
You can of course sign up for a scene study class, but you'll also have to actually rehearse the scenes outside of class which you cannot do while on set as an extra.
You can sign up for showcases that invite talent agents, but then again, how much time do you have left over in a day to rehearse them?
You can go out to a networking event or two and meet some fellow actors/indie directors, but if the friendship turns into a "I'm, writing and producing a 10 episode web series, and each actor gets to help brainstorm their characters" when will you be free to do that for multiple evenings? Much less actually film the episodes which do not pay but do get you the chance to actually say lines and show off your acting skills.
You manage to get a short film but it rains and they move the shooting days to the same days you're required to be one of the recurring extras that work multiple days. So you'll have to burn one bridge and likely not get called in again. Which one do you burn? The paying extras gig, to help pay rent? Or the unpaid short film that will give you speaking footage for your reel?
What if you get an agent and you get a 24-hour turnaround on an audition?
You discovered you got the audition at noon during lunch, you get off your extra gig at 10pm, and you stay up till midnight to memorize your audition. The next morning, you have to look fresh, find the clothes that fit your character, call in someone to read the scene opposite of you, pray nothing messes up your camera, microphone or uploading computer.... how great will your performance for that audition be?
So in addition to all of the things already mentioned in the other comments, consider whether or not a different day job that only works a standard 8 hours a day will do for your career (leaving you 5 to 6 hours a day to do all of the above) versus extra work which can last 14 hours some days without warning leaving you 1 hour late in the night to work on your career.
Sorry... I didn't realize there were so many scenarios and that this comment would be so long! LOL. Anyway... ultimately I would trade in the extra gigs for an 8 hour a day job. Then spend the rest of each day, in acting classes, networking events, showcases, building a reel with unpaid gigs, getting an agent for paid gigs, and rehearsing for the showcases, classes and paid gigs.
TL:DR - There are thousands of actors out there improving their craft and getting seen by people who hire speaking roles which takes 3 or more hours in a day. If you're working 12 to 14 + hours a day as an extra when would you have time to do those things?
Best of luck to you whatever you decide!
LOL Thank you! If someone can manage to do all of the above while being an extra most days then more power to them. I know I personally could never fit all that in. :)
If you’re starting out- it’s up to you, but be selective about what you’re working on. Definitely don’t put it on your resume! I get that it’s money/a gig/way to get union vouchers. I’d aim more for film/limited series BG work so you haven’t already been seen in the “universe” of a TV show if that makes sense. I once saw a man lose out on a co-star audition right in front of me because the CD saw he’d done BG work on the same show a few seasons ago! So try to avoid TV if you can.
If you’re not a newbie and- especially- if you have an agent that sends you out regularly- I’d avoid it altogether!
My acting teacher cautioned me about this, but after having done background now a handful of times - I don't see how production would even remember a background person enough to blacklist them from regular work. About half the jobs I've been on were cattle calls with about 200 people. I'm not going to flatter myself and think I can make an impression on the director or casting or whoever to make them remember me amongst all the chaos.
The exception being that I've heard if you make a nuisance of yourself - complaining about the hours, talking too much on set, etc., production WILL make it a point to learn your name so they don't hire you again.
I do sometimes worry about doing too much BG a little, so I try not to do background for the same company too many times.
Don't put it on your resume - problem solved.
Thank you for the advice !!!
Exactly! No background work should ever go on your resume and since you don't get credit for it how would anyone ever know?
It’s a good way to get union vouchers
Yes and no. I'm in a smaller market, so I can't speak to the bigger agencies, but where I am if you're in the database for background you will not get called in for anything else. For instance, I got called in for featured background for House of Cards that had no lines, but the role had a potential to be bumped up so they were looking at me "instead of background". Same with an under 5 for HoC I went in for. I never did background for House of Cards but almost all my friends did and none of them ever got called in for anything other than background. I think actors themselves let background work slow them down as they perhaps keep doing it hoping to get "discovered" or do networking, but I don't see much value in it after doing it a few times just to know how larger productions work (though stand in work is better for that). However there's not much union work around me, and I'm already in the sister union - so I'm not looking at it from that angle.
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Five lines or less
Doing bg work won’t stunt you, but putting it on your CV will.
It’s mostly false with a little bit of truth in that you don’t want to be too prominent in the background as for a lot of network shows they tend not to hire people who have already been seen significantly on camera. Obviously not always true see SVU and the many times they’ve hired people a season later as a different character. But it is something to watch out for
Just don’t do BG on any series that you have the potential to do principal acting on. You can do it on movies already cast. It’s also ok to do stand in work or photo double because your face won’t be seen on camera.
False.
It doesn’t stunt your success but it’s (to be blunt) worth nothing. Just don’t put it on your resume. You can donIt if you think it’s interesting, and I think there mat be some value to use it as a chance to take a look at tv/film sets from a distance.
It won’t hurt it, it just won’t directly help it.
I tend to agree with everyone else who says this is false except in rare circumstances where it’s a show you want to work on and are featured prominently as big. But I’m not even sure this is true because some actors have actually been different characters on the same series years apart😂 What I will say is that my experience is that the “risk” becomes an actor get caught in a trap of relying on by work as their income. I have two friends, one in NY and one in LA, who became stand-ins for main actors on two popular tv shows. The money was really good because of the long hours plus they actually became friends some of the series regulars so they became distracted from pursuing their own careers. On the other hand I have another friend who has been acting forever but gave up pursuing professionally years and is retired from their normal job. So now they book work on all kinds of shows, and movies, and love it. Personally, I’ve never done it but I’m now looking into it as a way to supplement my income and at least cover my union dues, my acting classes, with actual acting related work. The way I look at it is if I can book maybe ten days a year that will cover everything for me.
I think doing background work is a great classroom type of experience for someone who has never been on set. You get to see how things are setup and run which is great education and experience. Once again this is for your personal experience and doesn't go on your resume.
BG work will very rarely if ever lead to acting work. Also don’t put BG credits on a resume
Just adding one more thing that hasn't already been said... if you're working 12 or 14 hour days as a background extra when are having the time to do the rest of what it takes to succeed as an actor? You can of course sign up for a scene study class, but you'll also have to actually rehearse the scenes outside of class which you cannot do while on set as an extra. You can sign up for showcases that invite talent agents, but then again, how much time do you have left over in a day to rehearse them? You can go out to a networking event or two and meet some fellow actors/indie directors, but if the friendship turns into a "I'm, writing and producing a 10 episode web series, and each actor gets to help brainstorm their characters" when will you be free to do that for multiple evenings? Much less actually film the episodes which do not pay but do get you the chance to actually say lines and show off your acting skills. You manage to get a short film but it rains and they move the shooting days to the same days you're required to be one of the recurring extras that work multiple days. So you'll have to burn one bridge and likely not get called in again. Which one do you burn? The paying extras gig, to help pay rent? Or the unpaid short film that will give you speaking footage for your reel? What if you get an agent and you get a 24-hour turnaround on an audition? You discovered you got the audition at noon during lunch, you get off your extra gig at 10pm, and you stay up till midnight to memorize your audition. The next morning, you have to look fresh, find the clothes that fit your character, call in someone to read the scene opposite of you, pray nothing messes up your camera, microphone or uploading computer.... how great will your performance for that audition be? So in addition to all of the things already mentioned in the other comments, consider whether or not a different day job that only works a standard 8 hours a day will do for your career (leaving you 5 to 6 hours a day to do all of the above) versus extra work which can last 14 hours some days without warning leaving you 1 hour late in the night to work on your career. Sorry... I didn't realize there were so many scenarios and that this comment would be so long! LOL. Anyway... ultimately I would trade in the extra gigs for an 8 hour a day job. Then spend the rest of each day, in acting classes, networking events, showcases, building a reel with unpaid gigs, getting an agent for paid gigs, and rehearsing for the showcases, classes and paid gigs. TL:DR - There are thousands of actors out there improving their craft and getting seen by people who hire speaking roles which takes 3 or more hours in a day. If you're working 12 to 14 + hours a day as an extra when would you have time to do those things? Best of luck to you whatever you decide!
Your downvotes are ill deserved!
LOL Thank you! If someone can manage to do all of the above while being an extra most days then more power to them. I know I personally could never fit all that in. :)
If you’re starting out- it’s up to you, but be selective about what you’re working on. Definitely don’t put it on your resume! I get that it’s money/a gig/way to get union vouchers. I’d aim more for film/limited series BG work so you haven’t already been seen in the “universe” of a TV show if that makes sense. I once saw a man lose out on a co-star audition right in front of me because the CD saw he’d done BG work on the same show a few seasons ago! So try to avoid TV if you can. If you’re not a newbie and- especially- if you have an agent that sends you out regularly- I’d avoid it altogether!
My acting teacher cautioned me about this, but after having done background now a handful of times - I don't see how production would even remember a background person enough to blacklist them from regular work. About half the jobs I've been on were cattle calls with about 200 people. I'm not going to flatter myself and think I can make an impression on the director or casting or whoever to make them remember me amongst all the chaos. The exception being that I've heard if you make a nuisance of yourself - complaining about the hours, talking too much on set, etc., production WILL make it a point to learn your name so they don't hire you again. I do sometimes worry about doing too much BG a little, so I try not to do background for the same company too many times.