So last time I delved into some of the famous actors who once worked as Background Actors, or "BG's" for short, and why it could be an exciting job. Today, I'm going to provide some of the screen footage for all of the famous actors who previously which I previously mentioned and show the scenes which they were in, as I do the primary amount of posting from my iPhone, and I cannot add additional photos onto prior blogs due to the mobile layout.
Background Acting is great! You hardly have to work, and you get paid, 🤑 and fed. 🐷 You get to meet a ton of awesome hardworking director's, PA assistants, camera men, and all kinds of other talented individuals who help make the movie breathe. And sometimes you even get to meet some stars. 🌠 Here are some of the stars who did some background acting prior to making it big!
Clark Gable
Clark Gable was also an extra in several 1920s silents, including **Erich von Stroheim's ** The Merry Widow.
Brad Pitt In 1987's Less Than Zero, Brad Pitt was an extra billed as "Partygoer / Preppie Guy at Fight."
Sylvester Stallone~ Wood Allen's Bananas, as a subway mugger, in 1971. He was also in Jane Fonda's 1971 psychological thriller, Klute as a disco patron, though he went uncredited.
Ben Affleck & Matt Damon
When Ben Affleck started working on The Sum of All Fears he said to director Phil Alden Robinson, “nice working with you again.” When Robinson* asked Affleck what he meant by the compliment, Affleck explained that he and Matt Damon were among the thousands of extras in Field of Dreams’ Fenway Park scene.(1989). and Ben also played one of the Highschool bullies in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Jackie Chan
As a teenager, Jackie Chan was an extra in two Bruce Lee films: Fists of Fury (1971) and Enter the Dragon (1973).
Bruce Willis
Look carefully and you'll spot Bruce Willis as an extra in the courtroom scene of Paul Newman's 1981 film, The Verdict.
Megan Fox
Megan Fox was an extra in Bad Boys 2 (2003) as a dancer in a club scene.
She also had a bit role as a mean girl in the Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen movie, Holiday in the Sun as a "mean girl"
Renée Zellweger~ Was an extra playing one of the party girls in 1993's Dazed and Confused
Phil Collins Was an extra in the audience at age 13, cheering and screaming for The Beatles in their film A Hard Day's Night
John Wayne was an extra in several silent films in the 1920s before his first starring role in 1930's The Big Trail.
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe is often referred to as an extra in her first-ever screen appearance, 1948's Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! Marilyn has one line ("Hi Rad") and can also be briefly glimpsed sitting in a canoe with another actress. (MentalFloss)
James Dean
In the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comedy Sailor Beware (1951), James Dean was an extra with one line: "That guy's a professional."
Cuba Gooding Jr
Cuba is a little boy sitting in the barber seat getting a trim by one of Eddie Murphy’s many personas. He was in it for a minute or two, but he insists his part was originally longer. (Google)
“I had a scene in the movie. I wasn’t an actor getting his hair cut to practice on, negro! I had a scene!” The actor says.
Michael Cera
When he was somehow younger than he is today, Cera had a bit part as a shoe store customer in the 2002 Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen film, Switching Goals.
Damon Wayons
Damon Wayans played the guy who offered Eddie Murphy bananas in the cult classic film, Coming to America.
George Clooney
It's hard to imagine a time when George Clooney wasn't famous, but in the 1970's, he was just a nobody. He got his first gig as an extra on the 1978 mini-series "Centennial" before landing his star-making role on "ER." (Suggest.com)
&
Channing Tatum
He was in the Ricky Martin music video, She Bangs
And he also appeared in Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (2005) as a church boy, but his scene was later removed from the movie. (Google)
I have also of course had numerous roles as an extra in tv shows/pilots/commercials. Last time I showed you guys some of the screenshots of me in Blake McGrath's music video, Danja. And I also was in the pep rally scene in an episode of Disney's Shake It Up! But before those things I was one of the kids playing basketball in the pilot episode of Matthew Perry's Go On
Yeah I'm somewhere back there with the rest of those kids. After this, I did a Google commercial, and took a break for a few years because I didn't like shaving. When I came back, my first role was as a tourist in Miami for the season finale of Rosewood with Morris Chestnut.
Okay, so you can just barely see me behind the black cop. He cut me out from my wonky shot) I basically had on this shirt with a Panama hat.
It was a great day to spend at Huntington Beach, CA, and I met a drop dead gorgeous, amazingly talented girl on set who gave me a ride home. Sadly she wasn't taken, but this is basically the life of a background extra. 😔
After Rosewood with Morris Chestnut, I worked on a scene for the pilot of an upcoming abc series called SWAT. Which is a remake of the original 1975 series. I even got a chance to meet the guy who everyone and their momma says that I look like.
I don't see the resemblance, you be the judge. But on the bright side, Shemar Moore was a super nice, charming guy that took the time in between takes to take selfies with all of the hundreds of people there. He was a real class act, and it made me realize that even the most famous stars are still people too. I remember my mom used to watch every episode of The Young and the Restless, it was her daily soap opera which she liked, and I can thankfully say, that one of its stars has a great character, on and off screen.
I end up playing the role of a cop as well, but that's for another time!!!
Ciao for now! 😘
As always, thank you for reading my post. I do not own 100% of the works cited in this article, but here are the works cited for images and information:
"9 Succesful Stars Who Started Off As Extras." Suggest.com. N.p., 23 Jan. 2017. Web. 24 July 2017.
"25 Things You Didn't Know About Channing Tatum." Google. Google, n.d. Web. 24 July 2017.
Ymoviesuk-group. "Did You Spot The A-List Movie Star Extra?" UK Movies Group. N.p., 26 June 2014. Web. 25 July 2017.
"Fun Fact: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were extras in "Fields Of Dreams"." That Eric Alper. N.p., 29 July 2016. Web. 24 July 2017.
Deezen, Eddie. "Check Out These 19 Stars Who Began Their Careers As Extras." Business Insider Australia. N.p., 15 Feb. 2012. Web. 25 July 2017.