Essential Skills for Background Actors
By ERMW Team
Thursday, December 11, 2025
This week we had the excitement in Raton of our historic streets and local hangouts transforming into the vibrant, moving backdrop for a major production. When a film like The Chaperones sets up shop, our townspeople get a front-row seat—and sometimes, a spot in the shot—as Background Artists (or extras).
It might look like "easy money" to stand around during a massive film production, but professional, re-hirable background work demands a highly specific blend of soft skills, technical awareness, and discipline. The best extras are the ones whose presence grounds the scene without ever distracting from the star.
Here is a breakdown of the essential skills required to master the role of the extra, lessons that were vividly demonstrated right here on our Raton streets.
1. The Art of "Bonking" (Silent Pantomime)
The absolute golden rule of background work is maintaining silence; you must never compete with the dialogue of the principal actors. However, you must simultaneously look like you are having a genuine conversation.
The Skill: You need to be able to move your mouth, express facial reactions, and gesture naturally without emitting a single decibel of sound. On set, this is often called "bonking" or doing the "peas and carrots"—mouthing convincing, but nonsensical, words.
The Challenge: Silent laughter or panicked shouting is incredibly difficult. You must engage your diaphragm to make the reaction look real, but precisely stop the sound in your throat. This technique maintains the energy of the crowd while keeping the sound engineer happy.
2. Mastery of Continuity
This is perhaps the most technical and critical skill a background actor needs. Movies are shot non-sequentially in multiple takes, often from multiple camera angles.
The Skill: Your actions must be perfectly repeatable. If you take a sip of coffee when the lead actor steps through the doorway in Take 1, you must take a sip of coffee at that exact moment in every subsequent take, even if the cameras have moved.
Why it matters: If your actions don't match, the editor cannot cut the scene together seamlessly. You instantly become a "continuity error"—the one thing a director despises—and you risk being pulled from the scene.
Tip: Always memorize your "path" or "mark." If you are crossing a street, remember exactly which crack in the sidewalk or piece of curb you stepped on when the director yelled "Cut!"
3. Spatial Awareness and Proprioception
Film sets are incredibly crowded, dangerous, and expensive ecosystems. A professional extra must move with informed invisibility.
Hitting Your Mark: You may be given a small piece of tape on the floor (a mark) that you must land on precisely without looking down. Hitting your mark ensures you are properly lit, in focus, and placed exactly where the camera needs you to be.
Camera Awareness: You need to know where the camera is without ever looking directly at it. Never look down the barrel of the lens (breaking the fourth wall) unless the director specifically instructs you to.
Respecting the "Zone": You must naturally navigate around crucial equipment—cameras, heavy stands, boom mics, and cables—without looking like you are dodging them. Your movement must appear organic to the scene while keeping you safe and protecting valuable gear.
4. Extreme Patience and Endurance
Filmmaking runs on the industry catchphrase: "Hurry up and wait."
The Skill: Background work requires immense endurance. You might sit in a designated holding area (a tent or local school gym) for six hours, then be called to set to run up a hill or stand in the freezing night air for twenty repeated takes.
Energy Management: A skilled extra knows how to conserve energy, remain quiet, and be professionally ready during downtime so they can be "on" the moment the cameras roll, even if it's the 14th hour of the day. You must maintain enthusiasm even while freezing in a costume that doesn't fit the weather.
5. Rapid Adaptability to Direction
Background actors are rarely directed by the main director; instructions are usually delivered quickly and loudly by the Second Assistant Director (2nd AD) or a Production Assistant (PA) and involve large groups.
The Skill: You must process multi-step instructions immediately and without hesitation. If the AD shouts, "Reset! Back to one, and this time, cross later!" you must instantly return to your exact starting position and incorporate the new timing note without confusion.
Taking Adjustments: You might be told, "Cross later," "Look more worried," or "Walk slower." You need to incorporate these notes instantly without ego or demanding an explanation.
6. The "Furniture" Mindset (Ego Suspension)
This is the hardest skill for aspiring actors who use background work to get close to the set.
The Skill: Your job is to be "human scenery." You act as the texture, life, and ambiance of the world.
The Trap: Do not try to draw focus. Do not "overact" your reaction to a conversation. Do not wear distracting clothing (unless asked). If you draw the viewer's eye away from the lead actor, you have failed the scene. The best background actors are the ones you didn't consciously notice, but whose subtle presence made the scene feel real.
Summary of Set Etiquette Rules
To stay on the casting director's "good list" and be re-hired, a background actor relies heavily on professionalism:
Punctuality: "Early is on time, on time is late." Get to the holding area early.
Silence: Absolute silence on set is non-negotiable when the cameras are rolling.
Phone Discipline: Never take photos on set (this can lead to blacklisting) and keep your phone completely silent and out of sight.
Prop Respect: Never touch props, food, or wardrobe unless they are specifically assigned to you.
What’s Next?
Being an extra is the best film school available. It's a fantastic, low-pressure way to learn how a multi-million-dollar movie set operates from the inside out—a unique opportunity many Raton residents have now experienced firsthand.
Ready to turn your set experience into a media career?
Sign up as crew on our website to never miss an acting or extra opportunity in the region! We provide information on local film mentorships and skills training programs right here in Northern New Mexico.
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