How to Become a Movie Star

Many famous actors and actresses got their starts as extras, including Bruce Willis, Dustin Hoffman, Bette Midler, Gary Cooper, Sharon Stone and John Wayne. Extra work can be exhausting, time-consuming, and the pay stinks. On the other hand, extras get to rub shoulders with the stars, see a movie made from the inside, and, well, there is always that chance they will be discovered.

Virtually every movie requires scads of extras. Generally speaking, there are two ways of getting hired as an extra: through a casting call on location, or through a talent agency. Notices of upcoming filming sessions and extra requirements can be found in local newspapers, in trade publications, and on a number of Websites.

Talent agency members have more opportunities to work. To register with one you need identification and proof that you are licensed to work in the United States. Agencies will take a photograph of you that is digitized and maintained in their database. You also must fill out a form for their database that includes vital statistics, any special talents you may have (juggling, turning your eyelids inside out, etc.), as well as information about your wardrobe (formal wear, hospital scrubs, etc.). The largest extras talent agency in the world is Central Casting in Burbank, California.

Once registered with an agency, you will have access to its posted casting opportunities with that agency. Interested candidates may respond to postings either by telephoning or e-mailing the casting agent, who will pull up your image on a computer and decide whether you look the part. If you are chosen, you will be booked for the job and told where to go, when to arrive and what to wear. The process for on-location auditions is essentially the same, except you will probably wait in line. Besides your "look," the most important hiring factor is availability. Movies incur enormous fixed production costs and cannot afford downtime waiting for extras to show up. Because turnover is so high among extras, if you want to work, the odds of eventually getting hired are good.

Now the bad news: The pay for extras is awful; $46 per day is the industry standard rate. Overtime rates can be up to double that, but you still make less than the average waitress, with tips. You can boost your pay by joining the actors' union, the Screen Actors Guild. For extras, joining the Guild is a cumbersome process. If a union extra fails to show for a part and you are chosen as the replacement, you may receive a SAG voucher for working a full day. If you collect three vouchers, you may apply for membership in the Guild ($1,200 membership fee). Union extras earn a minimum of $100 per day and $596 per picture, plus future residuals and benefits. The main reason for joining the Guild is to further your career as a serious actor, because you gain access to talent agents (who are generally barred from working with nonunion actors) and union parts.