How to Be a Successful Background Performer in the Film Industry
By: Leslie Wibberley
Tags: Movies, Acting, Jobs, Film, Writing

How to Be a Successful Background Performer in the Film Industry

Or, as the crew calls us, a prop that eats.

When a shoulder and wrist injury, followed by two failed surgeries, forced to me give up my thirty-seven-year long career as a physiotherapist, I began writing full time.

But, as many of you are probably aware, writing is a somewhat less than lucrative career. Especially at the beginning. I had to put in my time honing my craft and sending my work out to small publications for little or no pay. I remained hopeful that eventually higher paying ones would accept it, and one day, I’d land an agent and a book deal.

Until that happened, though, I needed to find a way make some money. As a self-employed professional, I had no pension to fall back on. I desperately wanted to bring at least a little money into the family coffers.

I live in Greater Vancouver, affectionately known as Hollywood North. Every day there are countless productions being filmed here, most of which require a significant number of background performers.

Photo by Martin Jernberg on Unsplash

A writing compatriot of mine had mentioned that she worked as a background performer and how it was the perfect gig for a writer. Typically, there are hours and hours of down time. She told me this provides the perfect opportunity to work on her manuscripts, and better yet, she gets paid by the production company to do so.

Seemed like a win-win situation to me, so I signed up. I now work for a casting agency and for a background performer agency.

In the past year and a half, between the two of them, I’ve worked on over thirty different productions, including: The Art of Racing in the Rain, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Supergirl, Batwoman, Nancy Drew, Snowpiercer, The Good Doctor, Travellers, The Twilight Zone, The 100, and A Million Little Things.

I’ve worked with James Marsden, Kristin Chenoweth, Amanda Seyfried, Milo Ventimiglia (the dad from This is Us,) John Larroquette, Keegan-Michael Key, John Corbett, John Sena, Aidan Gillen, Jennifer Connelly, Wayne Brady, Sarah Wayne Callies ( from The Walking Dead,) to name but a few.

I’ve been a dog walker, patient, doctor, Tai chi practitioner, teacher, professor, wedding guest, funeral guest, concerned citizen, senator, refugee from an alien invasion, victim of a hostile take over, FBI agent, woman from the 1950’s, a presidential campaign donor, gambler from the 1980’s, millionaire, and a person at a Christmas carnival. That was by far the most challenging. The day we filmed it was 99 degrees, and I was wearing wearing a down parka, hat, gloves, and scarf. Yikes.

I’ve run from aliens, zombie, and terrorists, and danced at weddings, cried at funerals, watched pretend car races, played with dogs, and chanted at a trial.

Photo by Daniel Jensen on Unsplash

And I’ve had fun doing it all.

Days can be long, though, 16 and a half hours on one show this week. Occasionally, I’m on set for pretty much that entire time time with only a few short breaks. Other times, I sit in background for hours, waiting to be called to set. And during that time, I write.

I had one job where I worked, and I use that term rather loosely, fourteen hours, for three days straight. But I only made it to set for 15 minutes on the last day. The rest of the time I waited to see if they would need me. And during that time I wrote a short story, edited seven chapters of my novel, read two books, napped, ate, (and the food is usually fantastic,) and chatted with my fellow background performers.

Not a bad deal.

The pay isn’t great, but when you work overtime it adds up. Those three days of reading, writing and editing, eating, and napping netted me over $600 Canadian. Considering I wouldn’t normally be paid to do any of those things, I’d say that was a pretty sweet deal.

Might be something to check out if you’re looking for a way to supplement your writing income.

If you’re considering signing up, here are a few things you should know:

Ten Rules for background performers— aka, props that eat.

Keep you calendar updated daily. You can block off any days that you don’t want to work, but if your calendar is green, you better be prepared to work. Nothing pisses casting directors off more than if they try to book you and you say no. That’s a perfect way to be sure you won’t be called again. Always respond immediately to your agent’s texts, or as soon as humanly possible. If they can’t get hold of you to confirm, they will move on to the next person. Always bring three complete changes of clothing. You will get an email with suggestions, colours to avoid, styles of clothing, era, ie: 1980s, 1990’s etc, but wardrobe will expect you to show up with three complete outfits, clean and tidy, for them to choose from. Do not talk to the cast. Unless, of course, they speak to you first. Sure, you can fan-girl all you want, but for goodness sakes, do so discretely. I’m quite certain I made John Corbett more than a little uncomfortable when I stared at him, mouth agape, thinking, “OMG, he’s SO TALL and SO GORGEOUS!” Listen to your wranglers, assistant directors, and directors. Do what they say. Exactly what they say. Not following directions can slow the production and lead to very testy assistant directors and wranglers. Never a good thing, trust me. Be quiet. You may be on set for hours at a time, and it can be boring. But if you insist on talking, do so very quietly. 150 BG all talking at once can be overwhelming, and again, make for very testy AD’s and wranglers. You will be asked to mime conversations and emotional reactions. But remember…that means no sound! Get used to faking it, no need to use real words. I know someone who repeats, silently, of course, watermelon, hamburger, tornado, over and over. Bring something to do while you wait. One poor man showed up to a production, his first, with nothing. No books, no games, and a phone that died hours before our fourteen-hour-day was over. That’s a lot of time to contemplate life. Bring a handheld fan. Winter or summer. You may be in a studio, and studios can be notoriously hot. Bring Hot Shots. These are little packages that heat up via an exothermic reaction when you shake them. Buy a case and always bring a handful with you to set. If you don’t know what they are, google them. A BG performer’s best friend in the winter. They’re life savers on cold, wet, and windy days.

Next week I might be doing something a little different. My picture has been put forward for a life cast of my head and shoulders, followed by make up and prosthetic tests. I don’t actually know what it’s for, they haven’t told me that yet, but it sounds fascinating. and I can’t help but think it’s great research for a future story.

Although, after watching a video on the hour-long process, where your face is covered, first with silicone, and then plaster, leaving only two small holes to breathe through, one for each nostril, I might need to reconsider my willingness to try this.