I’ve been working in this business for over 10 years now and I’ve done a lot of the different jobs from interning in casting and production, to doing background, to finally professional acting gigs on the biggest TV shows in the world. All along the way, I have been exposed to high profile people and I’ve often thought about whether to talk to these people or not and, if so, how much of their time to take up.

Well, it’s one of those situations when the answer is, “It depends.” Generally, it’s always OK to say hello to someone but beyond that, it’s usually in the hands of the person higher up the food chain.

Someone asked me the question about whether background actors should talk to the stars…here’s my answer and I think it addresses the situation pretty well…

Hacktor Question:

Hey David,

I’ve been working for an extra for a while now and the extras casting company that I’m with says that you should “be professional” and not talk to or try to befriend the big actors. To me that just seems strange. I’ve never worked anywhere that I shouldn’t talk to the higher ups! I always thought that it’s who you know that gets your foot in the door and on the fast track in ANY business? What’s your opinion?

David’s Answer:

Hey Ron, thanks for your question. Your casting company is on the money. You’re there to do a job and you should do it to the best of your ability, not try to get a leg up. If someone talks to you, fine, but in general they want the stars to be away from any potential distractions. Imagine if every extra thought it was cool to go hang out with the the stars. It would be a disaster.

Put yourself in the producers’ shoes. They are paying millions of dollars in some cases to have a star on the set and along comes a BG actor trying to ‘network’? They cannot afford to have anyone who feels like it approaching and possibly disrupting their investment. Just like they don’t want you playing with the lights and sound equipment, they don’t want you playing with their actors. If you look at it from the point of the view of the people signing your checks, you would understand why they don’t want you approaching the ‘actors’. If you worked at a large corporation, I can promise you that the CEO’s door is not open for anyone to walk in whenever they want. People work their way up to a certain point and that is your responsibility…to work your way up. You don’t just go from doorman to president…life doesn’t work that way. You have to pay your dues and when you are on par with the ‘stars’, you can hang out with them…if they want. Frankly some actors talk to everyone…Jamie Fox for instance, and some talk to no one.

There is no fast track. You have to do the work. The actors can’t do anything for you anyway. They aren’t writing the checks or holding auditions. No industry operates as you suggest. Everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up. You have to prove yourself before they will waste their time on you. Even if you got to know them, would you expect them to put their reputation on the line and help you out? Our philosophy at Hack Hollywood is rather than focus on getting what you can from people, focus on helping others and they make take notice that you are someone they would like to have around. And then if you’re a good actor, you might get some opportunities. I could go on, but I would suggest that you examine how any business works and then apply those principles to your acting career. If you want a shortcut, sign up for https://hackhollywood.com/pricing-2 and we lay out the whole plan for you. Sounds like you are looking for shortcuts, though and with that, I can’t help you.

Good luck.

Should Background Actors Talk to the Stars?

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