Extras work

I just wondered if any of you budding stars had ever considered or tried getting into 'extras' work.
Maybe it's a foothold into the business.
The reason I say this, is because one of my daughters did extras work for quite a while.
She really enjoyed it and the pay was very good.
It was a treat to see her fleeting appearances in all the soaps and advertisements.

She would come home and say things like 'today I was girl on bicycle - cycling past the Woolpack in Emmerdale'.
Then a few weeks later we would be recording Emmerdale to watch her cycle past in slo-mo fifty times.
All was going well until a producer (or someone in the business) told her she was too stunning looking to be a proper extra. She is tall, beautiful and blonde. He told her she 'stood out' too much and they like to use extras in many scenes of the same programme.
He explained that average plain looking people do best at extras work. But he did advise her to apply for an Equity card then she might get small talking parts.

She was in this advertisement from a few years ago. You might remember it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7QVVe2nOec

She is the girl in the orange hi-viz and white hardhat.

Look like she was a hit.

So, did she get any speaking parts after being binned as an extra?

I used to work as an extras booker on a number of shows. Extra work is decent money if you have time on your hands and are flexible. I wouldn't say it was a good foothold into the industry though. I reckon the best you can look for is getting the part of a recurring extra, somebody who works in a shop or cafe or something, that way you get more calls and a more regular income than most extras.

Producers and directors aren't looking for talent from the extras though. They just want reliable people who can do the job with no fuss. I have never known an extra to get talent spotted or even asked to audition for a part off the back of extra work.

Ah daughters - born to vex fathers.

She was about 18 at the time - which meant she didn't know what path in life she was going to take. This was a euphemism for flitting aimlessly from job to job - but mainly no job

She continued to get work as an extra. She never applied for the union card and eventually gave up.
She didn't like the long hours.

I was a little cross at the time. I couldn't imagine a better job. I mean, she was picked up by a mini-bus each morning and taken to the location. She was fed all day and brought back home in the mini-bus and a great wage each week too.

Fair do's the bus came at about 6 in the morning and she often wasn't back until 7 - 8 at night but to me that was nothing - to her eventually it was 'the pits'

Yes she's a stunning looking girl Stephen!

What's the pay like and how would you get into it?

Quote: Vader @ June 23 2011, 9:51 AM BST

What's the pay like and how would you get into it?

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I think the rate at the minute is around £80 a day. If you want to get into it, then research what casting agencies there are in your area and what shows they provide extras for. Choose the one that you think would be able to provide you with the most work, and then contact them to see if they will take you on their books and tell them what type of stuff you are looking for.

Also, do not join any agency that asks for a joining fee.

I remember she got about £400 a week which by any standard was a good wage for an 18 year old a few years back.
And no work expenses - taken, fed and brought back.

I had the opportunity to be in the crowd for a mock-Joy Division concert in the film 'Control' a few years back. I got a call the day before saying, 'be in Nottingham tomorrow for filming' but ultimately it was too short notice so I declined.

I've not studied the scene footage closley but I guess it was probably full of 40-50 year old JD fans which was not likeley to be representative of the crowd at the time. Still, it would've been cool and I do regret not finding a way of making it happen.

Let's grab our chances guys...

My daughter was an extra in a few films (none I can remember the name of). She was asked onetime (unsolicited) to audition for a part in one of them. She didn't get the part despite my wife spending about £150 on new clothes for her to look the part (which she obviously didn't). About £100 was a 1940's style coat which she hasn't worn since!

She has stopped doing it since getting married but she used to enjoy it.

Quote: Will Cam @ June 23 2011, 11:03 AM BST

She has stopped doing it since getting married but she used to enjoy it.

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Sounds like 'er indoors.

Badoomtish!

I was an extra in Jude The Obscure in the 90s. I did it mainly to see what the experience of filming was like, and the answer - gutwrenchingly boring! Never dreamed of doing it again. Also, some of the other extras had delusions of grandeur, it was amusing but a bit worrying too. I said to one, 'we're only here because we're local and available, and they need bodies for a crowd scene.' Her look was intended to kill me. I think some thought it was their ticket to Hollywood or something, which is rather sad.

Is it true you were the stunt double for Alf Garnett in In Sickness and in Health, incase he had to say anything especially racist?

Alas no, if I was I'd have given his daughter a good seeing to.