Live From New York- Part II

Extra, extra!

Saturday Night Live is the only TV show that treats background actors like part of the cast instead of sewage contamination. Usually, the life of an extra goes like this: you’re at the bottom of the chain, replaceable and disposable.

There are two types of extras: union members and non-union members. The SAG-AFTRA members get paid a union rate, overtime, and, in some lucky cases, golden time (which happens when a shoot goes long). SAG members earn bonus money from meal penalties and additional pay for bringing in wardrobe options. They eat catered meals after the main cast and crew but before the non-union actors.

Non-Union extras make a flat rate of about sixty dollars a day. There’s no overtime, no money for hauling around clothing options, and they have to sit in the shittiest section of the shittiest holding cell.

Most background actors are lovely people who are trying to make a living, get experience on set, and hustling to make it in the industry. But some extras give the rest of them a bad name. They steal, lie, cheat, and would cut a bitch without blinking to get camera time.

There are success stories, though. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were both extras in Field of Dreams. Charlize Theron was an extra in Children of the Corn (I’m sensing a trend). And, Aubrey Plaza was a background actor on SNL before booking Parks and Rec.

If you build it, they will come.