>>RELATED: There’s a podcast I did with Heather Taylor of Casting Taylormade and extra extraordinaire Jeanette Stout right here.

The pay is minimum wage or not much above it, though if you endear yourself to the crew, you might be able to get extra pay by being a stand-in or photo double for one of the actors during rehearsals. Sometimes you get a “gas bump” if production is far away and you might get time-and-a-half overtime.

The hours are long and locations are unpredictable. Requests for work are often last second - sometimes the evening before. And it can be maddeningly tedious sitting in the extras holding room. (Needlepoint, crossword puzzles and books are useful.) On the bright side, it doesn’t take any real special skills besides taking direction well and being on time.

Obvious no no's: approaching the cast or director unsolicited, taking photos on set and taking a cigarette, phone or bathroom break when they need you for a scene. (And don't cut in line when getting snacks or a meal and then shove an employee, which allegedly happened recently on the set of "Madam Secretary." It did not end well for the extra. The gory details are on TMZ. Of course, that is one side of the story. Stout said she read online on an extras board that witnesses thought the extra wasn't necessarily in the wrong and a misunderstanding needlessly turned into a bloody mess. Craft people, she noted, aren't always nice to background actors, who are often given significantly worse food than the crew and regular actors.)

While some extras use the work as a bridge between other jobs, others see it as a way to segue into other production-related work either on crew or in acting roles with dialogue or stunt work.

Credit: CR: Rodney Ho. Heather Taylor of Casting Taylormade and extras actress Jeanette Stout Credit: CR: Rodney Ho. Heather Taylor of Casting Taylormade and extras actress Jeanette Stout

To maximize your chance of getting selected, you need to gather a variety of head shots. "They don't even need to be professional," said Heather Taylor, owner of Casting TaylorMade, which does work with "Stranger Things." "Selfies are fantastic. Then I can see exactly what you look like."

Taylor said if she solicits an extra directly for work, she expects a reasonably quick response, either yes or no. “Some people disappear if they’re busy,” she said.

And unless there is a genuine emergency, don’t cancel at the last second. “Treat this like a professional job,” Taylor said. “It’s a little different than a normal atmosphere, but I like a good professional attitude.”

To track potential work, get on email lists and scan the Facebook pages of the respective extras casting companies in town. Backstage and Project Casting compile casting calls in one place.

Here is a sampling of Atlanta area casting agencies to get you started in alphabetical order with some of their recent clients and proper links to get started.

Background Artists Casting

Recent client: The CW’s “Black Lightning”

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CAB Castings

Recent clients: BET’s “Sistas,” BET’s “The Oval,” BET’s “Bigger”

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Casting All Talent

Recent clients: the CW’s “Legacies,” Fox’s “Sleepy Hollow,” OWN’s “The Haves and the Have Nots,” OWN’s “If Loving You is Wrong”

Explore Facebook

Casting Taylormade

Recent clients: “Richard Jewell” film, Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” DC’s “Stargirl,” Netflix’s “Haunting of Hill House” Netflix’s “Thunder Force” starring Melissa McCarthy

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Central Casting

Recent clients: the CW’s “Dynasty,” YouTube’s “Cobra Kai,” Apple TV’s “Amazing Stories,” Disney+’s “WandaVision,” Fox’s “The Resident,” “Coming to America” sequel

Explore website

CL Casting

Sometimes works with Rose Locke Casting

Recent clients: “The Conjuring 3,” HBO’s “Lovecraft Country”

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Destination Casting

Recent clients: “Dwight in Shining Armor” on BYUTV, “Alieu the Dreamer” BET film

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Extras Casting Atlanta

This company has been around for more than a decade

Recent clients: AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” film “Fear Street,” Netflix’s “Sweet Magnolias,” AMC Shudder’s “Creepshow”

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Hylton Casting

Recent clients: BET’s “American Soul” and “Boomerang,” Netflix’s “Teenage Bounty Hunters,” syndicated “Divorce Court,” syndicated “Couples with the Cutlers” and “Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court,” Starz’ “P Valley,” Comedy Central’s “Robbie”

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Marinella Hume Casting

Recent clients: Netflix's "Ozark," the film "Greenland," DC's "Doom Patrol," Amazon's "The Underground"

Facebook page

Rose Locke Casting

Recent clients: HBO’s “Watchmen,” HBO’s “Lovecraft Country,” HBO’s “The Outsider,” film “The Conjuring 3,” film “Violence of Action” starring Chris Pine

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Tammy Smith Casting

Recent clients: Chris Pratt film“Ghost Draft,” “The Suicide Squad,” Netflix’s “Insatiable,” Disney film “Jungle Cruise”

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