Background Actors in the Spotlight

But, increasingly, some members are concerned about the competition for the number of spots allocated for union background in SAG-AFTRA contracts as well as the lack of contract coverage in emerging production areas such as New Mexico, Louisiana and Georgia.

Recently, they have been on the receiving end of an outpouring of support from high-profile members, including Jeff Bridges, Amy Adams, Mandy Moore, Mark Duplass and Rachel Brosnahan. But many of these performers have only spoken out after witnessing or experiencing firsthand some of the poor treatment their colleagues who work background have received on set. For instance, Adams recalled how she was mistaken for her stand-in while shooting HBO’s Sharp Objects.

“I’ve never experienced this before but, because we looked so much alike, at one point somebody grabbed me really hard and pulled me,” she recently told THR. “I went, ‘What’s going on?’ And they’re like, ‘(Gasp) You’re not Reb!’ I went into producer [mode] and I was like, ‘You will not handle her like that.’”

In April, the multihyphenate Duplass tweeted about how appalled he was to see background performers treated badly. “If you see this happening, please gently bring it to the attention of the offender(s) and ask them to reconsider their approach. It’s an odd blind spot in our industry,” he wrote.

New York Local Board member and Background Advisory Committee Chair Avis Boone agrees.

“In New York, while shooting exterior scenes in January in out-of-season wardrobe without proper breaks and a place to keep warm between shots, sometimes background actors will ask for hand warmers and be told that they only have enough for the crew or the talent. Even though background actors are a key ingredient to make a scene look real, they are often an afterthought when it comes to the things like being given proper breaks, water and safety rides,” she said.

Some performers, including Bridges, Moore and Brosnahan, used their time onstage during the last awards season to single out their stand-ins and background colleagues. While accepting the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, Brosnahan saluted “Our too-often unsung background actors who worked the same hours as us and share the same union as us. I couldn’t be luckier to be a part of this amazing group of artists.” Moore made a similar shout-out during the 25th annual SAG Awards in January, telling This Is Us background performers: “Our show wouldn’t be what it is without you.”

Bridges, too, has talked about how his longtime stand-in, Loyd Catlett, has been essential to his work, acknowledging their 50-year collaboration during his Oscars acceptance speech in 2010 and while receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2019 Golden Globes in January.

SAG-AFTRA leaders have also made the working conditions of background performers a priority. Last spring, President Gabrielle Carteris made a point of visiting Central Casting, the industry’s largest employment facilitator of background performers, to hear directly from members about their on-set experiences.

“Background performers are our fellow actors, our fellow members and so critical to all of our shared success,” she said after the visit. “We perform together and we fight for our protections and fair wages together — as one union.”

Ron Ostrow, chair of the National and Los Angeles Background Actors committees, said the recent attention has been a morale booster. Still, he encouraged other high-profile members to speak up, not just in public forums, but in the moment if they see something happening on set.

“Background actors want it known that they look at this like a profession. This is not something that they just go and hang out and do. They know their obligations. They know how to make a scene look good,” he said.

Ostrow noted that while some of the 56,000 members who do background work each year do so to supplement their careers, others have dedicated themselves to the craft. “There are people who are doing this full time who are raising their families and making their benefits,” he said. “They know how to bring their game to this — not just their wardrobe, props and cars.”

For the Background Actors

In September, background performers attended a resource fair held at SAG-AFTRA Plaza in Los Angeles. The fair showcased exhibitors from the online casting platforms Breakdown Services and Casting Networks, The Actors Fund and the Motion Picture & Television Fund, various financial and unemployment relief services, and specialists in makeup and wardrobe. For members outside of California, reach out to your local office for more information about any assistance programs located near you.