Aaron Marcus, an acting coach, explains why LA agents typically discourage extras work because it can typecast talent, while New York actors often mix it with auditions successfully. If you do take extra roles, treat them as learning opportunities: watch directors and established actors, network with peers and agents, and absorb how sets work.
Hi, my name is Aaron Marcus, America's premier acting and commercial modeling career coach, the founder of HowToModel.com, the author of How to Become a Successful Commercial Model, and I've been making my living as an actor and a commercial model for over 26 years. People are always talking about should actors do extra work, should you not do extra work, and that is partially a personal question, and it actually can be a business type of question as well. I can tell you that if you're living in the Los Angeles area, most of the agents that I know prefer that their talent not do any extra work because in that particular market it's easy to be labeled as an extra and it will be very difficult to start booking principal acting jobs if you're constantly doing extra work. In New York, people do freelance a little bit more and there are some actors that You know, might do extra work one day and then also get a chance to audition as well. I guess part of it is you don't want to make that your living if you want to do extra work. I mean, there are people that do try to make a living from just doing extra work. In other markets, especially the ones that I know of on the East Coast, and I'm sure in other areas as well, there are people who do extra work one day and could be featured and getting principal work and contracts on TV shows and films. Another day. If you do decide to take on extra work, one of the things that I would highly recommend doing is try to learn as much as you possibly can. There's a television series that I decided to accept a couple of days of extra work on, and it was incredible because I was placed in a very specific group of people. I was right next to the monitor with the director, and I'm watching and listening to the director. The monitor, getting an opportunity to observe some amazing actors and just seeing how they prepare, how they do the scenes, what changes they make, what does the director say to them, how do they make the adjustments. And so it was a really— it was a great educational experience for me. And the other thing too is network. You're there with a number of other actors. Talk. You know, ask them questions, whether it's about some of the new agents in the area, what projects are coming up, are there any independent films going on, who are some of the really good headshot photographers in the area, what classes are really good that people have experienced. So it's just a really good opportunity to get an education and really learn more about the industry. But once again, I'm not endorsing doing extra work. There are some actors I know who refuse to do it. They find it demeaning. They're not— they don't make enough money, and I completely understand that. So I'm not endorsing it, but I am saying that if you do decide to take on extra work, make sure you get the most out of it. So anyhow, if you have any questions, always feel free to email me at aaron@howtomodel.com, or you can also visit and join up on my Facebook page. It's facebook.com/howtomodel. I also offer private online acting and modeling coaching sessions, and you can read more about that on my How to Model page. Just click on workshops and you'll read all about it. Looking forward to talking with you again soon. I'm Aaron Marcus. Bye.
