Churchill doubles, Senegalese warriors, and Shakespearean punks: Inside the weird and wonderful world of film extras

From the strange requests casting directors have to field to tricks for how to alleviate boredom during long days on location, a dive inside the extras industry

Extras in 'Dunkirk' (Rex)

Winston Churchill body doubles. A Chinese Louis Theroux. Shakespearean punks and dwarf wizards. These are just some of the weird and wonderful film and TV extra roles currently being advertised for online.

The fields, hills, streets, and studios of the UK are awash with major Hollywood films and TV productions looking for regular people to play irregular characters. All you need to do is sign up to one of the extras agencies, like Casting Collective, Mad Dog 2020, Universal Extras and Extra People – and you too could be joining thousands of others on their early morning journeys to “stardom”.

A train ride to East Anglia or Liverpool this month, for example, could see you on set with Ed Sheeran and Lily James in Oscar-winner Danny Boyle’s new as-yet-untitled comedy film. One special request for the production was someone recently married and able to come in their wedding dress.

Other options in the capital include rubbing shoulders with Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Ian McKellen during the filming of The Good Liar, or gaping at Tom Holland in his spidey suit, swinging across the rooftops, for the filming of Spider-Man: Homecoming 2.

Thousands of extras were used in ‘Atonement” (Universal Pictures)

“We get all sorts of weird and wonderful briefs across our desks,” laughs Krissi Mcilquham, Head of Casting at Mad Dog 2020 Casting. “We’ve been asked for a rent-a-crowd for a funeral, a contortionist ‘dead’ body, an old lady with false teeth to ride a rollercoaster, individuals proficient in Double Dutch… and a Chinese Louis Theroux.”

Unsurprisingly, requests like these can attract some unusual characters, as well as the odd joker. For the TV series Vikings, the production team were recently seeking a woman with a newborn willing to breastfeed in the background on camera. One guy responded on Facebook: “I can shave my beard to play the role of the baby if you are unable to fill the part.”

Joking aside, the more people that know about the production, the easier it is to cast. But often with bigger projects, they also have to be more covert and keep things under wraps.

“It’s a nice surprise for people who have been booked on a code-named project to turn up and realise it’s a massive franchise film,” says Mcilquham.

But sharing screen time, and perhaps even dialogue, with the likes of Eddie Redmayne, Jennifer Lawrence or Daniel Craig is very rare. To even get chosen as an extra you’re doing well, as the competition for spots is tough. Once onboard, you’re likely to be only a blot on the background landscape.

Crowd scenes in ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’

That said, the experience itself can be fun. Many of the productions hold open castings in the area where they’re shooting, so locals can just turn up, see what’s going on, and try their luck. As one hopeful for the Danny Boyle film said: “I’ve got my wedding dress ready and my fingers crossed.”

To make it as an extra, you need to be flexible, reliable, and very patient.

“Once you’re chosen, you have to make it to set very early, between 5am and 6am, which can be a challenge in itself, especially if it’s in a field in the middle of nowhere. Then there’s a lot of standing or sitting around waiting to be called,” says Jonathan Taylor, an eight-year veteran on the extras circuit. He explains he gets cast in a lot of period dramas “thanks to my hair” – it’s long enough to be groomed into period styles – and has become a renowned crossword specialist, this being his approach to killing time.

But he believes it’s worth the waiting time for the memorable moments on set. “I did a ballroom scene on the Victoria series with about 150 other extras all dressed in immaculate period costumes, and the atmosphere was electric,” he enthuses. “On Joe Wright’s Darkest Hour, there were about 450 of us supporting artists in a mock-up of the Houses of Parliament, which was incredible, and then the director got us all to do a singalong to David Bowie’s ‘Starman’ and the Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’.”

Another extra recalls “wearing a corgi mask, then getting shot to death, and bleeding profusely on a table full of shotguns for the Snatch TV series. Which was a great shoot.”

Even professional actors sometimes get involved in the extras game. They see it as a chance to ask lots of questions, understand more about lights, where to stand, what you should and shouldn’t do, without the pressure of speaking their lines and putting in a perfect, professional performance.

“I do a load of body double work,” says Johanna Farquha, who has acted in films and commercials. “I doubled for Hannah John-Kamen in Ready Player One, which meant I got to work with Steven Spielberg. To be able to do that so early in my acting career is incredible.”

The other great thing about being an extra is it is literally open to anyone, including those with physical disabilities or mental health problems. “I have a 9-to-5 job building prosthetics,” says Karl Ives, an amputee extra. “But I’ve also got to perform in Downton Abbey, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Snow White and the Huntsman. Although usually as tramps and homeless people with one leg…”

Another amputee actor, Scott, managed a little infamy by getting the part of Quiggold in Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens, and has been dining out on it since, attending Comic Con and signing autographs. They even made a figurine out of his character.

Stormtroopers in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

There are dedicated extras who can pretty much do it for a living, especially around London, where the pay is higher. “We had people who were injured on World War Z and yet they were still coming back to perform again,” says Candy Marlowe, a veteran crowd second AD who’s worked on Dunkirk and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, among others, where jostling crowd members might sustain the odd bruise or scrape.

But it’s not a huge money-spinner; on average, extras make between £90 and £150 for a nine hour day.

There are noticeable discrepancies in pay depending on where you’re working, too. “Tensions have risen because the [filmmakers’ unions] FAA Pact agreement on pay only covers within 40 miles of Charing Cross,” explains Tom Walker, Managing Director at Extra People. “Outside London, the minimum for a 10 hour day can be as low as £75. That’s something we’re trying to rectify.”

But this could rise over time, especially if you’re given dialogue. “You can also get more if a production requires certain skills like swimming, playing sports or juggling,” says Amy Leyshon, marketing and events co-ordinator at Universal Extras.

The people in charge of the extras on set are the second and third Assistant Directors and Crowd ADs. It’s their job to find and secure the right people for scenes, and then make sure they do what they’re supposed to, which isn’t always easy.

“For the film The Legend of Tarzan, I had to find people in London to play Senegalese warrior tribesmen,” recalls Marlowe. “In the end I decided to go for elite athletes, so went round the London gyms to speak to these guys. I had to get them to strip because the roles required them to just wear loin clothes. But they were fine with it.”

Joe Wright’s Atonement was another memorable shoot. “We had to use thousands of extras for that film. Literally everyone in Redcar where we were shooting came on board to play soldiers,” recalls Marlowe.

A ball scene in ‘Downton Abbey’ (ITV)

She’s developed an instinct for the kind of people that will work and those that will be a pain. The latter usually try to get in front of the camera, while it’s the shier ones, happier to fall in, that tend to get more out of the experience.

Filmmakers, and agency staff, have plenty of amusing tales of their own of how, why, and when things go wrong with extras – and they share certain common bugbears. Chief among these are availability, reliability, and haircuts.

“We get a lot of drop-outs because this isn’t professional work, and they often have other commitments,” says Walker. “Also, someone might be booked for a long hair shoot, but then go to another production first that requires short hair (for example, it’s set in World War One), and so have it cut, and then they’re not suitable for us anymore.”

He points out that the selfie has become a vital tool, as it means the agencies can get up-to-date images of their extras. But once on set, supporting cast are not allowed any digital equipment because of the secretive nature of the film industry. Hence why many bring crosswords and books.

Amazingly, some manage to remember to bring reading material, yet turn up to costume fittings not wearing any underwear.

“We do get calls from the costume guys telling us to remind people to wear pants,” laughs Walker.