So you think that you can become a famous actor through work as a background actor. What are you crazy?
Well crazy or not some really famous stars appeared on camera as an extra before going on to stardom. It is a low paying and sometimes terribly boring job but for some the experience has been very rewarding in the end. A recent television show interviewed employees of Central Casting in Los Angeles. The Casting Director listed some of the famous people who belonged to Central Casting at one time. Those famous people include: Clint Eastwood, Casey Affleck and Eva Longoria. That’s right, Dirty Harry himself struggled to make it and was a background actor (uncredited, as all background actors are) in the 1950′s before finding success in the 1960′s. Below is a list of more famous celebrities who worked in the background before being put into the spotlight.
Many actors who became celebrities began their careers as extras in other productions*. For examples check out these famous former extras:
- Ben Affleck and Matt Damon served as extras during the Fenway Park scenes in Field of Dreams.
- Brad Pitt was an extra in Less Than Zero.
- Rudolph Valentino appeared as an extra in several films.
- Gloria Swanson was an extra in The Song of Soul in 1914 before featuring in many Charlie Chaplin films.
- Noel Coward appeared as an extra in Hearts of the World.
- Shirley Temple appeared as an extra in several films before she was signed to a long-term contract with Fox Studios.
- Bruce Willis appeared as an extra in the final courtroom scene in the film The Verdict.
- John Wayne appeared as an extra in a number of silent films during the 1920s.
- Brian Cox was an extra in various episodes of The Prisoner.
- Clint Eastwood worked as an uncredited extra in a number of movies in the 1950s before becoming a star in the late 60s.
- Dennis Hopper used to work as an extra before starring in Rebel Without A Cause.
- Fred Zinnemann was an extra in All Quiet on the Western Front before he became a film director.
- David Niven appeared as a Central Casting extra in many Hollywood films before going on to become a leading man.
- Patrick Macnee was an extra in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.
- Terry-Thomas was an extra in many British films before becoming a star.
- Trevor Bannister was an extra in Reach for the Sky.
- Michael Caine and Oliver Reed both acted as extras in British films of the late 1950s.
- Dave Clark was an extra in the Judy Garland film I Could Go On Singing.
- Pattie Boyd appeared as an extra in The Beatles’ film A Hard Day’s Night.
- Phil Collins was an extra in A Hard Day’s Night.
- David Bowie was an extra in The Virgin Soldiers.
- Bob Hoskins was an extra in the Frankie Howerd film Up the Front.
- Robin Askwith was an extra in an episode of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).
- Dick Cavett was an extra in The Phil Silvers Show Bilko.
- Julian Sands appeared as an extra in an episode of the British TV series Minder.
- Kara Tointon was once an extra in EastEnders before later creating the character of Dawn Swann in the soap.
- Adam Brody was an extra in American Pie 2 before gaining a long-term role as Seth Cohen on The O. C..
- Jackie Chan was an extra in Bruce Lee‘s Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon. Jackie Chan was still a teenager at the time of filming.
- Sylvester Stallone was an extra in Woody Allen’s Bananas (1971) as a subway thug, in the Jane Fonda psychological thriller Klute (1971) as an extra dancer in a club, and in the Jack Lemmon vehicle The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) as a youth.
- James Michael Tyler began his career in the TV sit-com Friends as an extra behind the bar at Central Perk. His role then grew into the character ‘Gunther’.
- Heath Ledger was an extra in the Australian film, Clowning Around.
- Cuba Gooding Jr. was an extra in Coming to America as a customer in the barber shop.
- Jean Harlow was an extra, along with her mother, in several silent films during the late 1920′s.
- Norma Shearer worked as an extra in New York during 1919 and 1920, as did her mother Edith and sister Athole.
- Mary Astor was an extra in several silent films in the early 1920s, mostly westerns.
- Renee Zellweger was an extra on Dazed and Confused. She played one of the hazed freshmen girls.
- Robbie Williams was an extra in Eastenders.
- Megan Fox was an extra in Bad Boys 2. She was a dancer in an early club scene.
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But how many of these actors actually were able to advance their careers because of their extra work and how many just happened to be extras at one time but that had nothing to do with their rise to stardom? This story is incomplete…
I see you point and am glad you mention it. It does certainly seem to me that I have furthered my self much more effectively when not scraping by on a disadvantaged Background Actors salary.
And it is true that Clint Eastwood had to basically leave the country to get a good role after being turned down by basically everyone in Hollywood. And who knows, some of the stories of going from BG to “Actor” might be too, well lets just say, embarrassing to make public.
My opinion has certainly changed since this article. I hope more people will be inspired by the stories faults enough to leave a real current opinion.
Thanks Matt
it advanced their career in that it gave them up-close and personal observation of how a movie set functions. being an extra can function as an ‘internship’ for acting.
today the stigma of being an extra has reversed in that it can lead to acting work. I was an extra on ‘Deadwood’… and Ralph Richeson started off as an extra and ended up being a side character! now he can be seen as one of the ‘primitives’ on those Capital One (what’s in your wallet?) commercials…
SAG (screen actors guild) absorbed SEG (screen extras guild)… so the distinction is now purely what the person does, instead of what he is labeled as…
I was an extra for 10 years in the 1950s era. Many extras I worked with became stars. For instance, Robert Fuller and I and other extras in our age group worked together on dozens of movies. Take a look at this snipped from Friendly Persuasion where you can see Robert Fuller as an extra at the fair. He later became Dr. Kely Brackett in the popular Emergency TV series. He has a long filmography after that series wrapped.
http://ralphm1999.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/odds-and-ends/
This a good artcle, I started as an extra in many flims, I spent four days on the scence of * Mile and I even met M&M. He’s awsome. If you love acting then this is your best bet in this busniess. I’ll never geive up this job. Ps I’m an extra in the war horse. I blow up.
1st exciting thrill of my life would be family. then i was an extra in the sunshine state movie directed by john sayles. to be hand picked out of hundres of men,women,models etc. well my dream came true to be in front of the camera and paired with a fantastic actress mary steenbergen. to this day its hard to watch movies without hearing action and seeing the camera in my memory. because of this amazing never forgetable experience i would love to be an actor. and it would be an excitement for my 6 yr old to be an actor so, he can have the hardworking thrill of his life!