When people discover that I work as a film and TV extra (临时演员), they always ask me the same questions: Emily, is it easy to get work? Isn't it boring? Do you get to meet famous actors? Does it pay well? My answers are pretty standard as well: Yes, sometimes, once in a while, and… kind of. The life of an extra is both more interesting and more boring than you might imagine.
Extras, who play the people in crowds, on streets, or in the background of indoors scenes, can come from all walks of life. Unlike many extras, I'm a trained actor. I do get real speaking roles, but work can be hard to come by if you're not a popular star. I'm registered (注册) with an agency that deals only with extras, so I get calls all the time. The agency explains who I'll be someone in a crowd, a member of a jury, a clerk and tells me where to go. Call time is usually bright and early, so I try to get to bed at a reasonable hour.
Sometimes being an extra is a "hurry up and wait" job. In my first extra role, I was one of a group of office workers who come out of a building just as a car explodes (爆炸) in the street. We waited for hours for the scene to be shot, and then went in and out of the building about fifty times, trying to act terrified by an explosion which was not real. Then we had lunch, changed clothes, and spent the afternoons as customers in a department store.
It may sound like I don't enjoy the work, but I do. Being part of the background in a convincing (令人信服的) way is challenging, and being on a film or TV set is always fascinating. A lot of famous actors don't even notice the extras, but the ones who do make the job a lot of fun for everyone. As for the money, it's nothing compared to what the big actors make, but it pretty much pays the bills. And, as a bonus, I've beaten my high scores on all my phone games, thanks to all the time I spend sitting around, waiting for something to happen.
