18 Secrets of a TV & Film Extra

​1. If we’re working on a big project you’ll sure as hell hear about it.
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Well we won't tell you because its secret but we might drop a few hints.

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​2.We think 7 am is a generous lie in.
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We love being on set, but that 4am alarm does make us question it.

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3. We have to ask to pee.
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It sometimes feels like you're back at school... but its the coolest school in the world.

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4. We lie about who ate the biscuits.
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“It wasn’t  me” we say as we skulk off with pockets and socks stuffed with custard creams, bourbons and digestives.

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5. Bodily functions always try to escape when it’s “quiet on set”
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​6. And when it does everyone looks at you like it's the end of the world.
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​7. No matter how fast you get to the dining bus, you still have to wait.
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​8. Waking up in make-up after a night out is nothing compared to coming home in a full zombie prosthetic.
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Nothing makes you feel more like a famous actor than every passerby staring at you in the streets, its not until you get home and look in the mirror that you remember that huge rubbery gash plastered to your face.

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9. There’s always one Extra who thinks they’re an A-Lister.
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If you’ve never experienced one, its you.

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10. You go alone but always leave with a new friend.
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​11. Your opinion of the lead actors depends on whether they speak to you or not.
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​12. You can’t talk by the end of the day.
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You go to set with the intent of finishing that long overdue book, but end up talking to so many people that at the end of the day your throat is as dry as Jack Dee's sense of humour.

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13. Its like a battleground when people start talking about their agencies or future projects.
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​14. We rush everything only to wait 8 hours to actually do something and even then only your elbow makes the final cut.
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15. But the next time you film you’re given a line and you feel like a pro.
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​16. Even when you’ve done nothing all day it still feels like a full days work.
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​17. The 12-hour days can make you feel like giving up and you have to convince yourself otherwise
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18. But you’d do it a thousand times over just for the feeling when you wrap.
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