- published: 10 Mar 2011
- views: 15933
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing 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. 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 "background performers", "background artists" or simply "background" while the term "extra" is rarely used. In a stage production, background actors are commonly referred to as "supernumeraries". In opera and ballet, they are called either "extras" or "supers".
Casting criteria for background actors depend on the production. Becoming a background actor often requires little to no acting experience; punctuality, reliability and the ability to take direction may figure more prominently than talent.
Extra, extras or xtra may refer to:
An actor (sometimes actress for female; see terminology) is a person who acts in a dramatic or comic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity. The ancient Greek word for an "actor," ὑποκριτής (hypokrites), means literally "one who interprets"; in this sense, an actor is one who interprets a dramatic character.
After 1660, when women first appeared on stage, actor and actress were initially used interchangeably for female performers, but later, influenced by the French actrice, actress became the usual term. The etymology is a simple derivation from actor with ess added. The word actor refers to a person who acts regardless of gender, and this term "is increasingly preferred", while actress refers specifically to a female person who acts. Actress "remains in general use", although in a survey of a "wide cross-section of current British English", compiled in 2010, actor was almost twice as commonly found as actress. Within the profession, however, the re-adoption of the neutral term dates to the 1950s–60s, the post-war period when women's contribution to cultural life in general was being re-evaluated.Actress remains the common term used in major acting awards given to female recipients.
Life as an Extra: Advice and Stories from a Background Actor
How to work as an extra (background actor) in LA
World's Greatest Extra
How to be a Hollywood Background Actor (Extra) in TV & Movies
Differences As an Actor and As an Extra By Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Hamster Actor! l WDF Extra
Sir Ian's Method
How To Be An Extra (Background Actor)
RICKY GERVAIS: How To Be A Movie Actor "Extra" !
Extra Credits: Word Choice
Extra: Actor-Turned Agent
Aspiring Actors: "How To Go From Extra To ACTOR"
Kannada actor Darshan accuses wife of having extra marital affair
How to Become an Extra in a Movie