Have You Ever Been An Extra?

[Fionasmommy]

I was an extra in Stephen King's The Shining. I played a high school student in the graduation scene. I was registered with a local agency at the time so I got paid for it. I also got to meet Rebecca DeMornay, which was kind of cool!

 

[surfergirl602]

Yeah, I've been in a few.

man without a face
Thinner
In the Bedroom
mona lisa smile
message in a bottle
and Casper

I got paid. Mel Gibson paid the most - fifty bucks a day.

 

[AmazingGrace]

Here's a blog post about my time onset.
http://amazinggracetx.blogspot.com/2010/07/my-time-with-fnl.html

 

[tazdev3225]

I was in a local production for the 1976 celebration. My brother was in a boy's choir and they were performing in it. My mom had made period costumes for us, I have no idea why because it wasn't for the show. Since the special was set in 1776 we got to be in it. I was actually shown quite a bit. I wish I could get a copy of it. This was before the days of VCR's.

My DH was in a movie that had Michelle Pfeifer and Robert Redford in it. They filmed at the prison he worked at. He said she was a not so nice person but Redford was really nice. I think the movie was about a news woman but I can't remember what it was.

I had a friend who joined the local SAG union and was always being called down to be an extra in productions shot here in Philadelphia.

 

[si-am]

The Blind Side.

It was boring.

 

[Acklander]

tons of times. The first time when I was 12 (Jaws, the original). The last time at Disney while they were filming a TV show there. I get e-mails from a local agency whenever they need extras. The whole family goes (and we all get paid).

 

[SnowWhite607]

There are lots of movies being filmed around where I am (New Orleans) right now so even though I havent done it yet, I am thinking about it.

 

[FergieTCat]

My DH was in a movie that had Michelle Pfeifer and Robert Redford in it. They filmed at the prison he worked at. He said she was a not so nice person but Redford was really nice. I think the movie was about a news woman but I can't remember what it was.

"Up Close and Personal"? Filmed in 1994/95?

I've been on camera in TV show audiences, but I've never been specifically an extra.

 

[mhsjax]

The Blind Side.

It was boring.

My brother said the same thing. They were filming The Firm with Tom Cruise there in Memphis. He was there to be an extra. He said never again. He told me that he now knows why actors are paid so much, because it is SOOOOO boring. He said it took 6 hours for a basic shot of almost nothing. Hours of standing around waiting for the director and everyone to decide exactly what they wanted to get everything set up only to have to do another retake and that included waiting even more time. He told me that is was the most unglamourous thing he had ever experienced and that anyone that had dreams of a glamorous life as an actor, should experience making a movie.

 

[agnes!]

Yes, too many to count.

agnes!

 

[daannzzz]

I was in "The Lost Boys"
I filmed for one night on the beach where they raced the motorcycles. It was filmed by Helicopter. We were at one of the bonfires in the background. We were also told to walk around the Boardwalk and they filmed some longshots. I watched them film some of the scenes on the merry-go-round. Was using the men's room when two of the cast came in. I didn't know them then one was Billy Wirth or Alex Winter. The other was a super hyper young kid. Ended up being Corey Haim.
I was managing a Burger King when one of the crew came in and ordered a huge amount of hamburgers for the shoot. I was talking with him and he invited me to a night of filming.
The night of the filming we (all the extras) had this huge dinner at 1:30 A.M. with half a chicken per person, rice, salad and some other stuff. We each got paid $45 for the night. It was then I saw how much money was wasted to make movies.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

My Girl - in the fair scene. It was horribly boring. Wait for hours for our scenes in the middle of the night. A group of us that were CMs at Disney went and we all said never again.

I've worked in film and TV and some extras are treated better than others.

 

[Geoff_M]

I would have had a prominent cameo in the very forgettable Sylvester Stalone / Burt Reynolds movie "Driven", had they not decided to re-shoot the scene. After the real Victory Circle at the Detroit Grand Prix in 2000 (which I was covering) they asked the press to stick around for a re-staging of the trophy presentation with the film's cast in place of the real drivers. They had Estella Warren (Stalone's character's girlfriend) stand next to me for the re-staging and filmed her celebrating Stalone's "win". I had not idea who she was at the time.

When the film came out, I saw that they re-did the whole scene on a sound stage. It was probably due to the fact that the the VC stage at Detroit was totally in the shade and the lighting was pretty flat. The movie sucked, so I suppose I should be thankful.

 

[sms]

I use to do extra work on Dawsons Creek. It was boring at times. James Vanderbeek and Katie Holmes never had anything to do with any of the extras. Joshua Jackson and Michelle Williams always spent a lot of time with us. Michelle would eat pizza and smoke cigs with us while the other cast ate much better food and stayed in their cliques. We had a better time though!!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Yes.

America's Funniest videos for one of their big prize shows. They needed extras for the little vignettes that Tom did going around MK. It was an open call announces to our homeschool community and we responded.

I have also done some student films for UCF, but one was as a principal.

I occasionally here of other open calls like that through acting schools. One I have never gone to a class, but she put me on her e-mail list. Another school that I did attend had postings all of the time.

The AFV was kind of fun once we were out of holding and in the park after it closed. Since it was to look like the park was open, we could take pictures, eat snacks, do whatever depending on the scene. Tom took pictures and signed autographs as well. The other shoots were less glitzy, but fun as they treated the actors like royalty in exchange for us working for free.

 

[tazdev3225]

"Up Close and Personal"? Filmed in 1994/95?

I've been on camera in TV show audiences, but I've never been specifically an extra.

That was it. I just completely blanked on the title. We saw him for a second if that in the background.

 

[Handbag Lady]

I posted last night but then the website went funky.

My name is heard in a hospital scene in Buffy. It is over the paging system in a hallway. They did it as a joke, but then the sound editor left it in for me.

I was the voice of a screaming lady in an elevator in a horrible movie.

I was the voice of a barkeep in Cold Mountain, but, having never seen the movie I have no idea if it was kept or if they re-voiced it. We were just doing a test for the director to see if he thought a scene could be re-voiced to change the feel of what he was really going for. For all I know, they cut the whole thing.




This is the fun part of being an ADR Stage scheduler when people don't show up for their call times.

 

[gometros]

I was background for an episode of Fringe last year. It was shot at Brooklyn College, which is used a lot whenever they need an Ivy League looking school. IN this case, Brooklyn College was standing in for Harvard. I'm on a call list that looks for certain types for roles in TV and movies. Unfortunately, my real job gets in the way a lot.

 

[minniecarousel]

No, but I really wanted to go to the Oakland Coliseum when they were filming "Money Ball" with Brad Pitt (yet to be released). The hours were atrocious. Heard all about it, though. They'd film the scenes of people in the stands from one baseline, then have everyone walk over to the other baseline stands and film there. They said there would be food, but most reports were that it was minimal.

 

[MsLeFever]

My family were extras in "I am Number 4" (and every time we see the trailer we complain that you can't see us).

Found an ad in the paper - worked 12 hours (overnight) for one night about about 5 or 6 the next. Even got paid!

It was fun, and boring too. It was a carnival scene so the kids got to ride carnival rides and eat carnival food which certainly helped!