Edinburgh extras wanted for new Avengers film – this is what it’s like to be one

It’s actually laugh, but don’t expect to be paid well.


Local newspapers have been going crazy in Edinburgh and surrounding areas as an open casting call has gone out to Edinburgh residents for the new Avengers film. People aged 16-90 regardless of experience have been encouraged to come forward and apply for filming starting this month.

I’ve appeared as an extra in Casualty and Skins and this is what it’s like to be an extra in a major production.

Pros

You get two seconds of fame.

Having gone from being the tree or donkey in the background of every school nativity play having two seconds of screen time is quite a big deal. You won’t be in the credits nor will anyone likely recognise you but at least your mum will get a blurry screenshot to send to all her friends.

You get to dress up

It’s not quite RuPaul but being an extra often means wearing exciting costumes and questionable outfits.

One minute you’re wearing a fancy period dress for a seventeenth century drama and the next you’re being splattered in fake blood with an amputated leg. Nothing can quite make you appreciate 21st century clothing like wearing a corset for twelve hours.

You get to meet new people

The great thing about being an extra is people come from all walks of life.

For most people being an extra is something on the side of their job or being a student. One of my favourite conversations happened to be with a guy dressed head to toe in monster gear who turned out worked as an undertaker in his day job.

You can often bring your uni work along

There’s a lot of waiting around. Chances are that for a twelve hour day you might only be on set for an hour or two maximum. But you can use this to your advantage. Sitting for hours allows you to catch up on the semester’s worth of reading that you should probably have started weeks ago and the best part is you’re getting to paid to do it.

Cons

The majority of extra agencies are a scam

I was very lucky that I found a reputable agency but a lot of them are a scammers. The worst part is that they’re pretty hard to spot. The main thing to remember is to never pay anything upfront. It’s pretty standard for agencies to take fees for your head shots, but they should only come out of your first pay cheque. Agencies who ask for the money upfront are most likely just trying to rip you off and should be avoided.

Payment

Ok, here me out on this one. You might be questioning how I could ever consider being paid a con. But the truth is that being an extra can be one of the poorest paying jobs. Payment is generally based on something called Equity Pact Rates, which is a type of general agreement for so many hours of work. If you work for an agency you then have a commission taken away and like any other job you have to pay for your transport.  Payment can also take up to twelve weeks.

You’re the very lowest of the low

As an extra you are the lowest of the low in the filming food chain. Quite literally.

Crew, cast and everyone else in between will always be seen as more important. This means despite waiting half an hour for food or costume or anything else they will always jump in front of you.

But despite all this it’s actually a good laugh.

Just don’t expect to be the next Ryan Gosling or Emma Stone.