Now, as promised, the conclusion!
After exploring some of the dangerous misconceptions associated with background work two posts ago I spent my previous entry explaining the merits of it. Today I offer up some final thoughts and warnings.
First, I want to reiterate how important it is to NOT pursue SAG membership through background work. Please see my second-to-last post for a full explanation of why.
Additionally, I think it wise not to use up any of your SAG waiver days on background work, as you only get three waiver days. You are much better off using your waiver days on speaking roles. Remember that once you have used up your three waiver days the next time you work on a SAG project, no matter the capacity, you will be required to join the union. It’s expensive, and once you’re in you can never work on another non-union on-camera project again, ever. Don’t waste your bullets on background work!
If you take my advice and work a few days of background for the experience you will probably wind up on at least one background casting director’s list. The result is you will get calls with additional offers of background work. The person calling might even twist your arm to get you to accept the gig. This is because the casting director is under pressure to fill a certain “order” for a given number of actors. These orders usually come in on very short notice and are for the same day or the next day. It’s a stressful job.
Unfortunately, some background casting directors will tell you anything to get you to work as an extra. They might, for example, tell you that if you say no they won’t call you when a speaking role becomes available. It’s not an outright lie but it’s a real stretch—the only time a background casting director is asked to fill a speaking role is when an unusual physical type or skill is called for and the regular casting director can’t find somebody that fits the bill. So unless you’re an unusual physical type or have a host of skills along the lines of fire-eating you have a better chance of being devoured by a shark than you do of getting an audition for a speaking role through a background casting director.
Remember—background work is NEVER a career-building experience! If somebody is telling you otherwise they are either horribly misinformed or willfully misleading you. Either way, they’re wrong. Now you know.