Extra (acting)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera, or ballet production who appears in a nonspeaking or nonsinging (silent) capacity, usually in the background (for example, in an audience or busy street scene). War films and epic films often employ background actors in large numbers: some films have featured hundreds or even thousands of paid background actors as cast members (hence the term "cast of thousands"). Likewise, grand opera can involve many background actors appearing in spectacular productions.
On a film or TV set, background actors are usually referred to as "supporting artists", "junior artists", "atmosphere", "background talent", "background performers", "background artists", "background cast members", "talent", "background friends", or simply "background",[1] while the term "extra" is rarely used and is often considered derogatory. In a stage production, background actors are commonly referred to as "supernumeraries". A more archaic theatre term is "sword carriers". In opera and ballet, they are called either "extras" or "supers".
Cultural references[edit]
Charles Chaplin tackled the subject of film extra work in three of his early short comedies: The Masquerader (1914), His New Job (1915), and Behind the Screen (1916).
The 1922 novel Merton of the Movies by Harry Leon Wilson depicts the tribulations of a male extra.
The silent film The Extra Girl (1923) portrays a small-town girl who comes to Hollywood and becomes a background actor in her attempt to achieve stardom. Souls for Sale (also 1923) depicts a young woman's career trajectory from extra to leading lady, though her progress is more haphazard.
The novels Extra-Girl by Stella G.S. Perry (1929) and I Should Have Stayed Home by Horace McCoy (1938) depict the working lives of Hollywood extras during the Great Depression.
The feature film Movie Crazy depicts a would-be actor (Harold Lloyd) working as an extra.
The quasi-documentary Hollywood Extra Girl, directed by Herbert Moulton, depicts the experience of a young female extra working on The Crusades (1935).
In his novel Infinite Jest (1996), David Foster Wallace refers to silent extras in sitcoms as "figurants", commenting that the need to include them is a concession to reality, even while their complete silence is unrealistic.[11]
The British television sitcom Extras (2005–07) follows the exploits of two professional background actors, Andy and Maggie. They spend most of their time on set looking for a speaking role and a boyfriend, respectively.
In the Hindi black comedy film Mithya (2008), the protagonist is a background actor whose facial similarity to an underworld crime boss lands him in trouble.
The Filipino comedy-drama film Ekstra (The Bit Player) (2013) centers around the life of a divorcee named Loida Malabanan, whose odd job as a bit player for various acting roles enabled her to send her daughter to college.[12] The movie is a social commentary on the exploitation and mistreatment of the marginalized sector in the television production industry in the Philippines.[13][14][15]
The Chinese-Hong Kong film I Am Somebody (2015) is about extras working at the Hengdian World Studios.[16]