Doing a background or extra work is a great way for you to get started as an actor in the business. In case you don’t know, an extra or background player is someone (usually an aspiring actor) who is in the “background” of a movie or television project. Extras are the one without speaking parts in the background. They’re acting. They just don’t speak.
You can make money as an extra until you get a speaking role. The good thing is that you don’t have to be a member of a union to do this, although you get paid more if you are a member of The Screen Actors Guild. To become an extra, all you have to do is sign up with Cenex Casting. They’ll take your photo and have you fill out detailed information about yourself. For a small fee, you’ll be registered in no time. The way you get work is by calling an information hotline and submitting yourself through a phone system. Central Casting is the “sister” company for extras that handles SAG actors. The difference between the two? Again, you get paid more through Central Casting because they handle union actors. Cenex and Central Casting are both located in the same building in Burbank, California but there are many other extra’s casting agencies out there to choose.
