At age 55 after raising three kids and being out of the job market for two decades, my mom randomly decided to get into acting. At the time, tons of movies were filming in Boston where she lives. She was quickly able to land lots of extra work, especially because the city lacks the constant supply of aspiring actors living in NY or LA.
It was a perfect cure for empty nest syndrome. She eventually landed a speaking role in a major film, though tragically her speaking scenes got cut and only the scenes where she played a corpse made the final cut. But, she got the opportunity to act opposite Robert Duvall! And she played Robert Downey Jr's mother, which by the transitive property of fraternal handsomeness makes me as good looking as he is (hint: I'm not).
Sadly, she gave up on it after receiving some harsh feedback from a talent agent. It can be a fun, carefree way to earn some extra cash if you have the stability not to have to worry about a volatile income stream. But once you get into the more serious levels of the business, the competition can be brutal and the industry insiders vile. C'est la vie, I suppose.
Ricky Gervais made a hilarious sitcom about the life as an extra. Aptly named "Extras", with a guest star every episode. Highly recommended, the Christmas special is one of the funniest things I've seen in a while.
I think it's pretty cool that she made a go of it, managed to step up, and found a new passion.
I did extra work in the mid 00's, and it was an interesting and highly unstable way of making a living. It was mostly actors and musicians at the time, as the money was just good enough (for some) to make time for auditions and workshops.
The rest were people like the author: people who just couldn't find a job and make ends meet.
I think that extra work in LA is possibly more fickle than out east, mainly because there are a few thousand people who move out here to become an actor every week, and the first place they find themselves at is Central Casting. Being too (fill in the blank) was the difference between working all the time and working just enough to pay for a calling service. It seemed that the next step for many was use the free time to launch their own business. It's very difficult to find a job if your resume says "extra work" for the prior two years.
My goal before I leave New York is to be an extra. I just want to be the guy in the background eating Chipotle. Unfortunately, there aren't many background roles for people who aren't young tall white/black and beautiful. The listings are usually quite specific—especially any sort of double work. My best hope is landing a student project and then working up to feature film or TV.
The tall part may not necessarily be true. Many actors are on the shorter side. Coincidentally, having a shorter stature makes filming easier because everybody fits within the frame more easily.
I just want a credit in a movie, so I can have an Erdos-Bacon number[1]. But seeing as I'd need a speaking role (to ensure a line in the credits), it's a bit tough.
In Atlanta you can walk on to any major picture if you look up the extra casting company. I worked on 6 projects last year and that was just part time and for some extra cash.
Pay is shit but it’s intense and exciting work, especially if there’s stunts or world class principal actors in the scene(s). That said, sometimes you show up and it’s grueling. Rolling the dice is just part of the background actor experience and a handful do get extremely lucky.
How much of your time was spent on those 6 jobs? Could you see someone getting enough work in a city like Atlanta to support themselves as an extra full-time?
I talked to some people who did it full time but many are college age- some aspiring actors, but a lot of people who just want to work. There's so much film work in Atlanta that you could do it 5 days a week- and Atlanta is a pretty cheap city.
But the killer is no benefits and always having to self-organize your work schedule while working 12+ hour days/nights. I worked on night shoots with people who stayed up all night then went to a noon call time the next day. Can't see myself doing that full-time, but I'm not trying to be an actor either.
edit: to answer your question I worked about 15 set days so roughly 200 hours and made a few thousand bucks after tax. not efficient, but the fun stuff was really fun...worth it.
It was a perfect cure for empty nest syndrome. She eventually landed a speaking role in a major film, though tragically her speaking scenes got cut and only the scenes where she played a corpse made the final cut. But, she got the opportunity to act opposite Robert Duvall! And she played Robert Downey Jr's mother, which by the transitive property of fraternal handsomeness makes me as good looking as he is (hint: I'm not).
Sadly, she gave up on it after receiving some harsh feedback from a talent agent. It can be a fun, carefree way to earn some extra cash if you have the stability not to have to worry about a volatile income stream. But once you get into the more serious levels of the business, the competition can be brutal and the industry insiders vile. C'est la vie, I suppose.