If you've ever watched a busy restaurant scene in a TV show and wondered about the people eating, talking, and laughing in the background — those are background performers. They're not incidental. They're hired, scheduled, costumed, directed, and paid. They are a working part of the production.
Here's what the job actually involves, how it's structured in British Columbia, and what your first day on set will look like.
A background performer's job is to make a scene feel like a real place where real life is happening. The street needs pedestrians. The bar needs patrons. The office needs employees who look like they've been there for years. Without background, the world of the film feels hollow — even if the leads deliver perfect performances.
On set, background performers take direction from the Assistant Directors — usually the 3rd AD or a Background Wrangler — rather than from the Director directly. They're told where to walk, when to start moving, when to stop, and occasionally given specific bits of business to perform. They don't improvise. They don't speak unless directed. When in a fake conversation they often are asked to 'mouth' words.
The work requires patience, professionalism, and the ability to do the same thing repeatedly across many takes without varying your timing or position.
A scene that takes 90 seconds to watch on screen might take four hours to shoot. Background performers do the same walk, the same turn, the same conversation — over and over — until the director is satisfied with the shot. Though, some are better at it than others..
You'll still hear people say "extra" — it's the common shorthand. But on a professional Canadian set, the correct term is background performer. The shift in language reflects a shift in how the industry treats the role.
Under ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) and UBCP/ACTRA in British Columbia, background performers have defined working conditions, minimum rates, meal requirements, and safety protections. They're covered by collective agreements, the same as speaking performers. "Extra" carries a connotation of an interchangeable prop. "Background performer" acknowledges it as a skilled, regulated job.
On set, use "background" or "BG." Most seasoned crew will notice if you use "extra" — and a few will quietly correct you.
Not all background roles are the same. In British Columbia, bookings generally fall into a few distinct categories:
In British Columbia, background performers are booked primarily through background casting agencies. These agencies maintain large rosters of registered performers and call on them to fill specific looks and requirements for each production.
The process typically works like this: a production submits a breakdown to the casting agency describing what they need — age range, look, specific wardrobe, any special skills. The agency reviews their roster and contacts people who fit. You confirm your availability, receive a call time the night before, and show up.
Registration with a background casting agency is usually free. Be cautious of any agency that asks you to pay an upfront fee to be on their roster — that's not standard practice in the BC industry.
Your call time will be on the email you get the night before. Background call times are almost always earlier than the general crew call — sometimes significantly — because you need to clear wardrobe and be ready before principal photography begins.
Here's roughly how the day flows:
Pay in BC is governed by the UBCP/ACTRA collective agreement for union productions, or by production-specific rates for non-union work. Union productions pay standardized minimum rates, which as of recent agreements start around $215–$230 for an eight-hour day of general BG work, with SAE and specialized categories paying more. (non-union background preformers are paid significantly less)
Overtime kicks in after eight hours and is calculated at time-and-a-half and then double time. Productions that run long days — and many do — owe you that overtime. Keep track of your sign-in and sign-out times. Your timesheet is your record.
Payment comes via cheque or direct deposit, usually processed through a payroll company the production uses. It typically arrives within two to three weeks of your shoot date. To your Agent, and in some cases directly to you.
Always sign in when you arrive and sign out when you leave. Do not let anyone sign out on your behalf. Your timesheet is the only documentation of your hours worked.
Background work has an unwritten code of conduct that every working performer knows. Violating it — even once, even accidentally — can get you sent home early or blacklisted from future bookings.
Occasionally — but it's not the common path and it's worth being clear-eyed about that. Background work is its own career track for many people in BC who enjoy the access to set, the community, and the flexible income. It's not a guaranteed stepping stone to principal acting.
That said, people do get bumped to featured background, given a line, or noticed by a casting director over time. It happens. It's just not the norm, and treating every booking as an audition — trying to stand out, hovering near the principal actors, overperforming — is the fastest way to ensure it never happens.
The background performers who get called back consistently, and who occasionally get opportunities, are the ones who are professional, reliable, easy to work with, and quietly good at what they're actually hired to do.