For the past 80 years, Central Casting has been the Ellis Island for new hopefuls entering the film industry. One might start out in the background walking across the street or lying in a morgue playing a dead body. But everyone who registers here hopes it’s their ticket to stardom. We meet some aspiring actors in Hollywood as they register for their first day of “extra” work, including reporter Judy Muller who catches the bug.
- Central Casting, official website
- Central Casting, Wikipedia entry
- “Straight Out of Central Casting”, Los Angeles Magazine
- Extra Casting Agencies in Los Angeles, LA411
- My Poseidon Adventure, Premiere Magazine
- Hollywood from the Inside, as an Extra, by Marcos McPeek Villatoro for NPR’s Day to Day
- “Celebrity perks: How stars rake in millions”, Entertainment Weekly
July 16th, 2006 at 8:56 am
I did this for several years in the ’90s with a bit of success. The nonunion Cenex division eventually led to the union Central Casting side and a few solo bit parts in films and television shows. This dichotomy was not presented in the piece, which was really funny overall. Moreover, for those who aspire to become actors extra work is the kiss of death. The agents frown on it and few extras ever move beyond background to princple roles. It does get you into SAG, but once there you face stiff competition for parts you aren’t ready to play. There is no going back either by rule of law of the guild.
The other area is booking. They may call in a pinch but mostly you call them. This can work at Cenex but once union at Central the jobs go to paid players using a call-in service. One of these that I used is related to one of the casting directors or was at the time I worked. You pay $50 a month for them to book you. it works for a while, and then most are forgotton except for the bill. On the set, you get to work close to the stars but they didn’t get there the way you did. Close is miles away in reality. Take classes, do plays and build a resume that attracts an agent. Mine got me an average of three auditions per year. I got callbacks but never booked a job. They’re out of business now.
November 30th, 2006 at 12:41 am
I would never consider what I’m doing to be “acting” because anyone can come to LA and be a background actor. Infact, when people are released from prison parol officers frequently send them to Central Casting to go work on film sets and TV shows as background actors. Being a background actor means nothing to actors or agents and a lot of people say not to even do it if you’re a serious actor. But, it is fun sometimes and it allowed me to get into the Screen Actor’s Guild union. The process of getting into the union is also meaningless. It is rarely based on any sort of skill. With background acting it’s all about luck, schmoozing, and sometimes some serious flirting. I was extremely lucky, I got a line on a feature film on my sixth paid job as a background actor, some people wait years to get into the union. To get into the union you have to be paid union rates on three seperate jobs or get a line on a film or TV show. Getting paid union rates sometimes goes to people that have special looks such as a “biker” look with a motorcycle, or say they need attractive caucasian girls with bikinis or black men with long dreadlocks. But generally, the non-union people that get paid union rates are the ones that are very assertive or they know someone that can help them get union vouchers. The union is kind a clique with members that have no real skills like say a union electrican or plumber might have. Union background actors get paid almost three times more than non-union. I know serious actors that have been doing student films and extra work for years and they are not union even though they are decent actors. Since they are not SAG, they cannot audition for SAG projects. On the set of Vanished, I watched a frustrated background actor arguing with an assistant director during lunch. I looked back and watched the actor throw his coffee in his face, basically ending all future work through Central Casting. Carrying a SAG card has almost no meaning, except to say that you were in the right place at the right time.
April 21st, 2007 at 3:49 am
I totally did background acting and had a blast doing it! Not only is the pay “ok” they do pay extra if you are not given breaks on time, subjected to smoke or water, and they feed you very well.
I was fortunate enough to get actual airtime, in a few sitcoms. And, I even did a few movies. The key factor in finding success this route is getting “vouchers” on set, so you can get your SAG Card. And, actors don’t really know this when signing up with Central/Cenex, but vouchers RARELY come up.
It is decent pay for standing around, eating, hanging out with strangers. It is very difficult to get placed for work though unless you’re camera ready. They do take a quick shot of you at registration, but it’s like a yearbook picture that you NEVER GET TO SEE. Forget submitting your own headshot, they do it DMV style. Who looks good in that?! After registration at the office, you have to call in constantly to check for new work availability. The casting folks there tell you that they will call you in, if they have more work, but with thousands of incoming calls a day, they don’t EVER call you. Most of the time you end up listening to a bunch of voicemail messages on a phone bank line, you then dial an extension and get patched through in hopes that when they pull up your picture in the database, that they will indeed assign you to work on the project you think you fit. Soemtimes they will choose you based off what kind of car you are going to be driving (if they need drivers) or your age. Most of the time, it’s not very specific if it’s for sitcom work, more specific for movie work. It really depends on the project. It’s a good idea to get chummy with someone in the office so you can just directly call them. This can happen but only after you’ve proven yourself as a “dedicated” and “responsible” extra.
I must say, I was never treated unfairly, or as just an extra. Everyone (including the professionals on set) were always very gracious, and realized that we were all actors and that were doing a job. I had fun, and it was a great exposure to the long hours, the process, the blood, sweat and tears it takes to work in this industry.