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Extras: is the game worth the candle?

It may seem strange, but the question “to act or not to act in extras” periodically arises before professional actors. It is in front of them, and not people without a specialized education who just want to touch the magical world of cinema at least a little, feel involved in the filming process and, of course, earn money, albeit small. But those people whose profession is cinema or theater, who have spent several years getting an education in this field, and have been preparing for this path for even longer, do not consider the question of participation in the crowd unambiguous for themselves.

Most professionals believe that the game is not worth the candle. Shooting in the crowd is a low—paid business. Moreover, all the actor's achievements and skills will be wasted, since mass scenes do not require getting used to the image of Stanislavsky. The reliability is minimal: put on the appropriate suit and behave as the assistant director tells you. There are the same “mass workers” around you, extras with very simple tasks. Participation in the extras will not give you any money or interesting work for a professional actor. Moreover, there is an opinion (it's hard to say how fair it is) that directors are subsequently not too willing to offer good roles to those who participated in extras. However, maybe this is just a rumor. But what if they are based on some real cases?

When should I agree to participate in the extras? Perhaps in such a situation, when there is a long stagnation in professional activity, there are no invitations to projects, auditions end in failure. Of course, in this case, the actor should, first of all, honestly work on himself, analyze the situation, answer himself the question of why it turns out this way. And start working on the bugs! The problem is that the lack of interesting projects is also a lack of finance. And for aspiring actors who have no other sources of income, this can become a very serious problem. So, it may very well be that participation in the filming of mass scenes will help out for a while.

Another argument “for” working in extras: such shooting is a good opportunity to be inside a professional environment. Together with the actors of mass scenes, the stars of the screen are sometimes filmed, so watching them can give some valuable information about acting techniques and techniques. On the set, sometimes some personal and professional relationships are established, contacts are established that may be useful in the future. If you participate in the project of a novice director, then with a successful combination of circumstances and your efforts, you can be remembered by him, like him, and then he will invite you to the next project with a high degree of probability. Especially if you prove yourself from the best side: show your responsibility, love of work, discipline and conscientiousness.

But all these are extreme cases. They are good for beginners, or not related to the film industry. Still, it's worth remembering that shooting in extras is an extreme case. And if it so happens that you are temporarily out of work and the casting directors have forgotten your phone number, then it is better to devote this period (hopefully short) to working on yourself, practicing acting skills, acquiring new knowledge and skills. And most importantly, try to figure out why this situation has arisen, what does not suit employers, which nuances can be corrected immediately, and which require more careful study. If you are aware of the essence of the problem, then it is already at hand and up to its solution.

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