When I was in middle school, my parents got introduced to the niche world of background acting. The people you see in the background of your favorite show? Yeah, they all have to sign wavers, take last minute calls to set, and (sometimes) aquire an agent.
Obviously this is only the kind of thing you can do if you live in areas where a lot of film and television is shot, which I did at the time.
Since I was a kid, I mainly did Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows, most notably Bunk'd.
But I also found myself on the sets of stuff like NCIS:LA, Superwoman, The Middle, as well as various commercials.
According to my aunt I once ate lunch with LL Cool J, though I was completely oblivious at the time.
EDIT; I found an old photo of me using one of the cameras on the set of The Middle. They were shooting an episode at a theater.
2d ago
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A few years ago I got into background acting as a hobby/"side hustle". I am in a few episodes of HBO's The Deuce as "Lower East Side type" and in the High Fidelity reboot with Zoe Kravitz as "concert goer", among other less notable roles. It is a pretty fun way to spend a Saturday as long as you're patient and aren't expecting to ~make it big~.
They bring you in for a fitting and then day-of you and all the other extras are herded around like cattle and yelled at to stand certain places at certain times. Other than that you're sitting in a chair reading a book or talking to the other extras. I made something like $160 an episode back in like 2018- not much but decent if you feel like getting paid to stand on a street corner in a funny outfit which is something I might do for free anyway. My biggest let-down in this era was getting asked to potentially be Jared Leto's stand-in in that vampire movie he was in. They were gonna pay me $500 a day to stand on an X while Mr. Jared was in his trailer. Sigh...
Dec 21, 2023
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It’s fun ! I am one (aka background actor). Heck, I was in home alone 5 ! marshcarroll.com
Feb 4, 2024
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maybe because im chronically online on an annoyingly criminal level but im able to recognise faces of niche actors/actresses so well whenever i watch any form of media.
par exemple: roby attal who is one of sabrina carpenter’s (ex)love interest in her “manchild” mv who’s also “cooper”, the love interest of kacey from season 3’s sex lives of college girls
Jun 14, 2025
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Aw man the breeze is so nice, the sound of kids playing and adults chatting is a nice ambiance, and wow, it's so pretty out.
How come no one ever told me how relaxing it was to have your window open?
Apr 28, 2025
Fluffy, fresh cake. Freshly whipped cream. Chilled strawberries.
Yes.
Yes please.
Apr 21, 2025
Buckled in this giant thing of popcorn my cousin gave me after our movie on this fine evening.
Not only did it keep my buttery perfection safe,
But it also made me laugh the entire way home.
More buckling up of random things please.
Apr 30, 2025