How I became an extra on The Big Bang Theory and my experience on set

I’ve been a project manager for the last 5 years and have worked in an office job for almost the entirety of my professional life. I recently quit my job at Amazon to move to LA with my husband for his new job offer. During this transition into LA life, I decided to take some time off before jumping into my next job so I could explore and seek out new experiences in life. I decided to try out background acting. After all, I’m in Hollywood where I have access to an abundance of new experiences in the entertainment industry. What better way to see behind the scenes than to be a part of those scenes!

A background actor (often called an extra) is someone who performs in the background in a non-speaking capacity to help set the scene for a movie or TV show. For example, to portray that a main character is in a popular coffee shop, there might be a number of background actors seated at various tables on the set acting like they’re having conversations or sipping coffee. This helps provide a sense of realism for the scene and helps to illustrate the environment that the main character is in.

Amazingly, the first background work I got booked for turned out to be for The Big Bang Theory (TBBT), one of my favorite TV shows! I was booked for a casino scene to portray patrons in Season 11 Episode 22 “The Monetary Insufficiency”, which aired on April 26th, 2018. This opportunity was beyond what I could have ever imagined when I started my journey to experience new things. I was over the moon excited!

How I got the opportunity

Before I could get booked on any production set, I had to first figure out how to find job postings so that I could apply for them. I struggled to find background acting work initially because this industry worked very differently from what I was accustomed to. I couldn’t just go on Indeed or Glassdoor and find job postings like my normal job searches. I then learned that I had to get registered at casting companies in order to obtain access to job opportunities for background work.

After some searching, I discovered that Central Casting was the place to get registered for background work. They post 20–30 background jobs each day. The bad news was that I was a tiny fish in a big pond. Background acting doesn’t require any experience or auditions and there are tons of people who want to be background actors, so the competition was fierce! Based on my research online, a lot of people want to get registered with Central Casting but they only let in the first 67 people each time they do new registrations. This meant that I had to get there early and beat the crowd in order to make it in. How early? Registration started at 9am, but the consensus seemed to be that you had to get there at 5am - so that’s what I did! Lo and behold, there were already 20+ people there when I got there! I brought a chair and blanket and camped out in line as I watched 100+ more people show up after me. I passed my time chatting with others in line and playing games on my phone. By the time 9am rolled around, a man from Central Casting came out to start the registration process. Unfortunately, he sent home around 70 people who were too far back in line to make the cut. But thank goodness, I made it in.

People who arrived earlier than me to line up for Registration.

The actual registration process took a few hours to complete. Everyone filled out stacks of paperwork and signed way to many pieces of paper. The last step was to take 2 photos with the photographer, one close-up of the face and one whole body. And voila, 7 hours later I finished registration and became but a mere data-point in the talent pool for Central Casting.

Once I was registered, I checked Central Casting’s job posts on Facebook multiple times a day to see what casting calls were available. On one Thursday afternoon, I saw the post below and decided to submit myself for the work.

Job posting from Central Casting.

These were all the details I knew at this point. Even though I didn’t really know what show or movie this was for, I still applied because I fit the description and the work was close to where I lived. Given that this would be my first background acting gig, I wasn’t too picky.

I called the phone number they provided in the post over and over again for 45 minutes because the line was continuously busy. Surprisingly, this was normal in the background acting industry. They only have a few people taking calls while hundreds of people try to call in to submit themselves for each available job post.

After calling literally over 200 times, I finally got through to someone! I answered a few verifying questions as they pulled up my profile. Then I was told that someone would be giving me a call with details at a later time and the call was quickly over. I was mildly excited when I hung up the phone thinking that I may have just gotten my first background acting gig. But given that the phone call ended so quickly and I still didn’t know any more details about the job, I felt unsettled.

At dinner with my husband that night, I received an unexpected phone call where they revealed that the job was for TBBT! I tried so hard to contain my excitement as I jotted down the pertinent details for the job. It was so unbelievable to me that the first background job I got was for a show that I’ve loved and followed for many years. I felt like I was dreaming!

I spent the entire weekend figuring out what I would wear. I was told to wear one outfit and bring 2 alternatives so that they could select an appropriate one the day of. There were lots of restrictions like no whites, no blacks, no stripes, no ripped jeans, no open-toe shoes, etc. I drove my husband crazy that weekend asking him to evaluate each outfit I had picked out.

Day-of experience as an extra on TBBT:

Arrival — The Big Bang Theory sets (ie. the apartments, the hallway, the cafeteria, the comic book store, etc.) were all built in the same “stage” at the Warner Bros Studio, which was basically a building that looked like a huge warehouse. The casino set that I would be working in was also built there. My call time was at 8am, but I arrived early at around 7:35am because I didn’t want to risk being late for my first background gig. I had some time to walk around inside the building before checking in and I was immediately amazed by all the familiar sets from the show. My first reaction (other than being completely fascinated) was that all the sets felt a lot smaller in real life. I also saw some new sets including a wedding dress shop, a decorated office, and of course the casino set. When the time came, I checked in with 40+ other people who were also there for background work, and we proceeded onto the casino set to start work.

Exterior of Stage 25 at Warner Bros.

TBBT was being filmed at Stage 25.

Role Assignment — The first thing we did on set was called “blocking”, which was where the production team figures out who was doing what, where and when. Out of all the background actors, there were 4 extras who had been pre-determined to be cocktail waitresses. The rest of us were all generic extras meant to portray casino patrons. All the extras were managed by a single girl which I assumed was a production assistant. She assigned and instructed each extra of where their opening position was, where to move after that and when to do so. She did this with the script in her hand and an idea of where the main cast would be standing, and what they’d be doing throughout the scene.

She first assigned me to start at the roulette table along with 2 other extras, and instructed us to walk away from the table on cue. Our cue was when an actor at the roulette table yelled out “32 Red” in the scene. I found out a few minutes later that my position at the roulette table would be right next to Sheldon during a part of the scene! Even though it would only be for a few seconds, the thought that I would be standing right next to Jim Parsons was beyond my wildest dreams. I eagerly waited at my spot with glee as the production assistant proceeded to assign the remaining extras.

After all the extras had been assigned, the production assistant read the script from beginning to end several times so that all the extras could run it a few times to make sure everyone knew what they needed to do. Once she was satisfied, more crew members were called in and we ran it again with the camera crew and directors to make sure they were satisfied.

This whole process revealed to me how much preparation was needed before the main cast even got to the set. Rehearsals were already in progress. The camera crew and directors were already figuring out what camera angles were to be used when and where. The production assistant was constantly adjusting the movement of the extras to make sure we all complimented the scene perfectly. All of this setup ensured that everything was ready to go once the main cast arrived.

A photo I took on the casino set during the down time.

Background actors waiting on set until further instructions were given.

Wardrobe — Once preparations were completed, the wardrobe department came on set to evaluate what everyone would be wearing. As mentioned earlier, each person was told to bring a few of their own outfits as alternatives for the wardrobe department to choose from (with exception to the cocktail waitresses who would be provided outfits).

This step actually changed everything for me. Apparently, the ladies in the wardrobe department had determined that one of the cocktail waitresses wouldn’t be able to fit in the predetermined costume they had in mind. They eyed me up and down as I stood next to the roulette table and whispered (not so quietly) “she might work.” And just like that, I got switched out to play a cocktail waitress instead of a regular casino patron, all because it seemed like I could fit into the costume they had. Everything I had been assigned and rehearsed to do as a patron was thrown away.

They took the 4 cocktail waitresses around the corner to try on the costumes. The other waitresses and I were all worried about whether the outfits would be too revealing. We were right to be worried (see picture below). I was personally quite uncomfortable with how short the dress was. Luckily, the wardrobe ladies were willing to find me black shorts to wear underneath and tights over my legs so that I would feel less exposed. After all that, one of the 4 cocktail waitresses still couldn’t fit in the dress, so we ended up going with just 3 waitresses for the scene.

The cocktail waitress costume I was asked to wear.

There was one bonus thing that happened while we were trying on the costumes. While all the extras were getting ready in the morning, the crew was actually shooting scenes in the same building but on a different set with the main women cast (Amy, Bernadette, and Penny). We could hear bells go off throughout the morning (indicating that cameras were recording and that everyone in the area should keep their voices down). When I was waiting for the other waitresses to get dressed, I saw Mayim Bialik (Amy) come down the hall in a wedding dress costume after her shoot was finished. I casually told her that she looked cute in her dress and she thanked me. Being able to have a small exchange of words with one of the main cast members was so incredible. I didn’t even care about how embarrassing it was that our interaction happened while I looked as ridiculous as I did in my costume.

Fun fact: This instagram picture was taken right before she put on the wedding dress! I caught a glimpse of her wearing the same blue cover-ups earlier in the day as she walked around the building!!

Mayim Bialik’s behind the scenes Instagram post from the day-of: https://www.instagram.com/p/BhH9p71BDLL/

Holding — By the time everyone got fitted and everyone knew what they were doing for the casino scene, it was noon and all the extras were told to wait in an area called “holding”. This was an area where the extras waited indefinitely until the production team needed us again. Other than going to the restroom every now and then, I was told by one of the other extras that I couldn’t even leave to get coffee. I was on “stand-by” which meant that I had to stay at holding until further notice and I couldn’t leave unless I was released by the production team. We waited there for a couple of hours until the production team finally released us for lunch at around 2pm and told us when to return to start shooting.

Each film project had different locations that they would assign as holding. Our holding was just outside of The Big Bang Theory stage in the café set they had built for La La Land. I was amused by the irony of having all the background actors wait where Mia once worked as an aspiring actor in LA.

The building I waited in as an extra was the same building as the café set in La La Land (photo from TripAdvisor).

Time to start shooting — This was the most amazing part of the experience- being a part of the scene WITH the main cast. There were 4 cameras and dozens of crew members on the casino set, along with all the extras for the scene in their opening positions. Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj were also on set, makeup and wardrobe-ready. As a huge TBBT fan, I couldn’t help but stare at them the entire time trying to wrap my head around the idea that we would be standing in the same room acting out a scene! Some of the other extras had never seen the show before so they weren’t as starstruck as I was. Someone even quietly asked me who Howard was because she was supposed to start moving while Howard was in dialogue. 😳

My observations of Jim Parsons (Sheldon) — In this casino scene, it was obvious that Sheldon had not only the most number of lines, but the most difficult lines. As everyone was getting ready to start shooting, I watched Jim Parsons review his lines over and over again as he practiced them quietly to himself on set. He not only recited his lines, but his facial expressions matched what he was saying as well. His eyes fixated on a single spot in the room while he rehearsed as if that spot stood the person that he was saying his lines to. It was unreal to watch. I zoned out all the chatter in the room and just watched and listened to him practice from a few feet away.

I also watched as Jim Parsons complained to another crew member after he had performed a couple of takes. He was making a point that his lines contradicted with a prop he had in his hand and that he should just be able to do the entire scene without that prop. That way it would simplify his act and also maintain the story’s consistency. Although they ended up keeping the prop, I loved his enthusiasm. It showed me that he really cared about his character and the integrity of the show.

I felt a lot of sympathy for Jim Parsons as we had to reset the entire scene numerous times when he messed up his lines. You could tell it was frustrating for him. But for me, each time he stumbled, it would just be a reminder of how difficult his lines were and how impressive it was that he could deliver them so naturally, so Sheldon-esque.

My part in the scene — I was told to stand near the poker table as a cocktail waitress, and on cue (when Leonard says something about “pirates”), I was to walk to one of the slot machines, stop for a few moments, then walk around the casino to the other side of the set. I didn’t realize until we were recording it live that the slot machine would be arm’s length from the cast as they were acting out the scene. With each take, I had to resist the temptation of looking at them as I walked by so that I wouldn’t spoil the scene with my unrealistic waitress portrayal.

My part was towards the beginning of the scene. When my part was over, I was to walk around to the other side of the casino and remain there for the rest of the scene. While I waited there, I was tucked behind one of the cameras so I knew I wouldn’t be in the shot. With every take, once I got to that position, I dropped my act completely and just stared into the camera monitors and watched as the camera crew recorded the rest of the scene (while also watching the live performances). We did many takes and I was thoroughly mesmerized every single time. I was fascinated by the camera angles they chose, the way they panned the camera and moved as the actors moved, and the magic of how the live performances could look so familiar from the camera monitors as if I was watching an episode from my TV at home.

Takeaways — In the end, we wrapped at around 5:30pm, a 10 hour day. Overall this was an unbelievable experience for me, not only because I was able to be on set with the cast, but also because the entire day was full of twists and turns that I hadn’t expected. I didn’t end up using any of the clothes I brought and ended up wearing a costume with shoes that hurt my feet, but I was delighted by the changes nonetheless. There was a lot of waiting around, but I also unexpectedly made a new friend (she was another cocktail waitress, we ended up sticking together the whole day). I had a lot of interesting conversations with other extras as well and I learned a lot about their lives and their motivations for being there. It was a tiring day, but definitely a worthwhile experience full of fun, nervousness, learning, adventure and over-the-top excitement. I felt so privileged to have been part of a small piece of television history. To top it all off, I even got paid for it!