10 Things They Never Tell You About Being A Hollywood Movie Extra

Movie extra work doesn’t just attract aspiring actors or those looking to make a quick buck. Background acting has become a popular pastime for LA pensioners, who take advantage of their retirement and spend carefree days on the sets of Hollywood productions in need of older extras, though a high number of professionals also make a hobby of it.

When The Patriot was filming, a local medical practice closed up for the day so that the doctors could go down to the set and work as extras in a scene with Jason Isaacs. The actor, who played Lucious Malfoy in the Harry Potter series, also bumped into his accountant on set and was happy to spend some time chatting with him.

This kind of interaction between an extra and an actor is far from the norm, however, no matter the extra's profession or their relationship to the cast member. Isaacs himself admitted that even his family feel unwelcome on set sometimes:

“My wife won’t come on set because it’s like the court of Louis XIV. It’s like an ant hill – and there’s a strict hierarchy. I try and work against the hierarchy, to talk to everyone, but when there are ironclad rules about who can sit where, eat what and talk to whom, it’s a bit of a losing battle.”

You are under explicit instruction not to invade the actors’ personal space, and under no circumstances should an extra speak to an actor unless spoken to first, and that includes autographs and selfies, the latter being a sure-fire way to get yourself blacklisted.