Auditions: Co-Star Vs Guest Star 

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I don’t have any current videos addressing this, but maybe in the near future? In short, a “featured” extra is a debated term. Some people say it’s meaningless from a contract standpoint. In other words, you’re either an extra (no lines) or a principal (speaking part). However, there are times where a production may “feature” an extra, and might give them slightly more money, but that’s rare. Whether an extra is featured or not, it bears little importance when trying to get an agent, and it’s conventional wisdom that no extra work (or stand-in work) should be on a resume. Agents (and Casting Directors) only care about speaking (principal) roles. Hope that helps!

@@GetTaped Yes, this is helpful thanks! and YES! it would be SO awesome if you could shed some light on the different terms. I like how you explain things. My friend played the Queen of Moldavia. So the main characters were walking up to meet the king and queen. The scene ended with one of the characters throwing up all over the Queen's dress. So perhaps why it was "featured extra"?.

@@sharonsquires3556 If she was hired as an extra (featured or not), then that meant they had no scripted dialogue for her. It's a huge difference in pay and benefits. Extras all stay together in "extras holding" (usually a large tented area) and get paid $80/day here in the Southeast (rates vary in different markets and for different types of productions). Extras also don't audition for their roles. There is an Extras Casting agency that has a library of headshots, and they just send actors to set who match what production needs. Principal roles require an audition. You have to "earn" that type of role. Sometimes extras get "bumped" up to a principal role because the director wants them to speak a line. There are many different scenarios that can happen. But the bottom line is if you're hired as an extra, you're an extra until they put a mic on you and ask you to speak. Then you become a principal.

@@GetTaped thanks. actually she had her own trailer. i saw the photo.

Totally see your point. I would counter with the fact that if your character is not designed to affect the overall trajectory, then even if it’s heavy drama or rip roaring comedy, you have to be smart about how much focus you steal. It gets murky, though, because some roles are co-star by contract, but recur and do have importance (comedy or drama). So I did make a gross generalization in the video that does start to break down when you get into the nitty gritty.

@@GetTaped I agree. Always better to err on the side of playing the utility character for a co-star. And if you do think it calls for something bigger, which is the exception and not the rule, keeping the character's role in the story is essential. Thanks for your thoughts, Matt!

Yep. Especially when we, as actors, only get to act a few minutes a week. The temptation is always there to do too much

Absolutely. A fantastic reminder.

Hahaha! Thanks for the feedback!

Depends on your understanding of that casting office’s preferences, whether the takes are different enough, etc. For a one-liner, though, I’d almost always submit two takes.

@@GetTaped thanks Matt!

holyhillfilms great question. It’s a judgment call on your part. If the character is really affecting the main characters and trajectory of the story, then you definitely need to avoid doing “too little”. If you have a trusted acting coach, I would work through it with them.

Get Taped! Thank you soo much. Will do

Sarah, I’m not clear on the question. I feel like there’s a missing word or an auto-correct that happened. Can you clarify?

@@GetTaped absolutely! Sorry if I wasn’t clear. I mean in comedy sometimes those little co-star roles are there for comedic effect. I mentioned the show Friends as an example because they had a lot of little parts where the characters were super quirky, rather than simple. And I suppose I’m wondering when the tone of the show you are auditioning for would make a difference :)

@@sarahirwin6631 thanks for clarifying, and yes, you're right. In the comedy genre, specifically, your character might either be written to "stand out", or it will be welcomed if you make it so funny that it does stand out. Steve Urkel from Family Matters is a perfect example. He was supposed to be a one-episode character, and ended up being the "face" of the show. You just have to be discerning about whether the role warrants it or not. I think Gunther from Friends was another anomaly. By casting someone who looked interesting, it made his first appearance more memorable, and gave the writers a reason to keep him coming back. I've personally had the opposite experience, where I was cast as recurring comedic relief in a show. I was initially "guaranteed" 3 of the first 6 episodes, but got written out of the 3rd of those 3, and was never brought back. I wasn't given a reason, but when you watch the show (The Gates from 2010), you see that it actually didn't benefit from the comedic relief. The show skewed much darker in the end, and I think they realized that as they were shooting, so they slowly eliminated my character.

@@GetTaped thanks for the response! I’m an actor in the northwest (Canada) haha and I’m loving your content :)

Well this is an old video from last year before I established the routine of calling out Brooke. Sorry!