10 Greatest TV Extra Performances Ever
How to get noticed as an extra? Easy, just pretend to have sex in the background of a shot.
Like lorry drivers, window cleaners, and those people that organise trolleys at the supermarket, TV extras usually don't get a lot of credit, despite playing an important role in the functioning of their industry.
Sure, the entire purpose of an extra is to blend into the background without drawing focus from the main events of a scene, but that's still an extremely important task - despite not being a very showy one.
However, some extras do things that make them stand out from the rest.
Whether they were intentionally trying to spice things up or they simply stuck with fans for a totally random reason, some background actors - in some of the biggest TV shows around - manage to thrive, even in spite of the inherent limits of being an extra in the first place. Sure, they aren't going to be winning Emmys anytime soon, but as far as extras go, these select few are definitely a cut above their colleagues.
Oh, and apologies for the next time you watch these scenes, because you're not gonna be able to think about anything else.
10. Stickboy (Highlander)
Based on the 1986 film of the same name, the oft-forgotten Highlander TV series isn't exactly the stuff of small-screen legend, which explains why a random moment like this has gone down as one of the show's most memorable scenes.
In the season five episode Comes A Horseman, there's a flashback scene in which The Four Horsemen raid a Bronze Age settlement, killing several civilians and generally just causing a right old mess.
One of their first victims is an unnamed extra who runs towards camera while carrying a massive pile of sticks, desperately trying to flee his attackers. He throws his sticks to the ground in an effort to lighten the load, but this ultimately proves fruitless, and the Horsemen chop him down before he can escape.
After the episode aired, this random character was affectionately dubbed "Stickboy" by fans of the show, and he was praised for absolutely legging it across that uneven terrain, holding onto his precious sticks until the last possible moment.
God bless you, Stickboy. Your perseverance is an inspiration to us all!