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My Top Acting Tips...
SINCE EXTRAS RARELY have lines (unlike actors, who do them all of the time if you know what I mean), what's most important is how we look. You don't have to be beautiful to be an extra - look at the mingers in The Wicker Man and you'll see what I mean - but you should look distinctive. If you've a bland face or indistinct features, a more appropriate career may lie in retailing - as a shop dummy. Remember, the camera is your friend. Make love to it, although make sure no one's around and it's not rolling when you do. |
| EXTRA-ING IS A tough business and the most common word you're going to hear is "no". The next two common words you'll hear are "f*****g" and "way", so get used to it. Fame costs, and this is where you start to pay. You need to treat rejection as a friend, so never take it personally when you don't get a job. Even though it probably is. Me, I never took no for an answer, even though several judges subsequently told me that that wasn't a justifiable legal defence. |
| THE VACUUM CLEANER should be the only thing doing more sucking-up than you on set. Actors, directors and producers are a notoriously vain bunch, and you should never miss the opportunity to butter them up like a crumpet. Why do you think David Lean kept using me in all of his films? My skills as an extra? Or because I constantly complimented him on his beautifully composed shots and epic vision? I even stooped so low as to tell Michael Winner that his shots were occasionally in focus. |
| THINK ON YOUR feet. Just because some stuck-up First AD tells you to mutter "rhubarb rhubarb" during a crowd scene doesn't mean you have to. Bonkers old Stanley Kubrick once told me about a extra in one of his films who'd shouted out "This is silly, we can't all be Spartacus!". Stan had him killed, obviously, but that's the kind of thinking you need to stand out from the crowd. |
| NEVER MIX BUSINESS with pleasure. Even though you may want to show off your fancy job to your wives, lovers and wealthy admirers, it is ill-advised to bring them to the set. They will only serve as a distraction. Or get off with the leading man. |
| PREMIERES ARE HEAVEN for smart extras. Make sure you work the crowd extensively - they're so busy star-spotting it's easy to pick their pockets. Then there's the PR possibilities. It's always good to have a gimmick for these events - what I do is go up to someone in the crowd, borrow their mobile phone and call Tom Cruise's mum. |
Before you purchase items from my store, don't forget these EXTRA special rules:
- It's not who you know, it's what you know about them
- There is no 'i' in team but there are three in irresistible. What would you rather be?
- Actors are just extras with speaking parts and better dental care
- An extra is only as good as his last job. So lie about it
- Security on movie sets is never as tight as it should be
- Always tell female autograph hunters that signed breasts are worth more money on eBay
Now get out there and knock 'em dead! And tell them Keith Guttenberg sent you!
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