A Starter Guide to Background Work

Have you recently completed Talent Onboarding and are wondering what to do next? There’s a lot to know about being a Background Actor with Central Casting, here’s a guide to help you find background work and get on set.

How to find background work

The two main ways to find work with Central Casting are by responding to messages from Casting Directors and by submitting for work on the Jobs page.

Messages you receive from Central Casting will be sent to the email address on file and as a text message with a link to respond. To ensure you receive these messages, add DoNot-Reply@centralcasting.com to your email safe sender list. You can also find all messages from Central Casting in the inbox of your online profile.

The most common message you may receive from a Casting Director is an availability inquiry. Availability inquiries are not offers or guarantees of work, we are simply asking if you are available and interested in working that day. Please read each message carefully and respond honestly about your availability for the dates provided. Keep in mind, Casting Directors often won’t know call times until the evening before the work date and work days can vary in length, so please only respond available if you have no time restrictions for that day. Though if the role is for a late night or overnight shoot, that information will be included in the availability inquiry. For a detailed breakdown of casting messages, read our articles How to Respond to Central Casting Messages and First Avail: Everything You Need to Know.

You can also submit for roles we’re casting on the Jobs page. In their posts, Casting Directors will include requirements for the role, like portrayable age, portrayable ethnicity, if you’re a member of SAG-AFTRA, and other details. Please read all of the information provided before submitting according to the Casting Director’s instructions. After reviewing your submission, the Casting Director may send an availability inquiry.

Keep your profile and photos updated

Our Casting Directors use the information in your profile when booking their shows and the more accurate information you include, the easier it is for them to determine the types of roles you can portray. A key part of that is having accurate sizes in your profile. Your sizes are used in a variety of ways, like when production provides wardrobe and when casting doubles. If you don’t know your sizes or if it’s been a while since you’ve taken your measurements, we have easy-to-follow tutorial videos to get you started.

Ensuring that your profile photos always reflect your current look is essential to working as a Background Actor with Central Casting. We recommend updating your photos any time your look changes so our Casting Directors have confidence they’re considering you for the right types of roles.

Our guides How to Take a Central Casting Profile Photo and Casting Director Recommended Profile Photos will help you learn how to take great headshots and tell you more about the types of photos we’re looking for.

Learn the basics of background acting

Stepping onto set for the first time can be intimidating, but we have plenty of resources to help you be successful. As a Background Actor, your duties can involve walking around the set (even crossing the camera), pantomiming with other Background Actors, or interacting with principal actors. These articles can help you learn more about a Background Actor’s duties and working on set:

• How to Prepare for Your First Day on Set
• 21 Production Terms Every Background Actor Should Know
• Do’s and Don’ts for Getting Booked with Your Car
• How to Be Camera Ready for Set

Getting paid by Central Casting

In most cases, when you’re booked by Central Casting we are responsible for paying you. You’ll know you are paid by us if your production uses SmartVoucher or your paper voucher says Central Casting and/or Entertainment Partners. EP’s payroll portal, myEP, is a helpful tool for setting up direct deposit, managing your pay, and viewing pay history. Accessing myEP is easy! Just go to my.ep.com, then log in using the same email and password associated with your Central Casting online profile. Then connect your payroll profile and verify your employment by providing check, net, or gross pay information. Once connected, you can access the full myEP features. For more on getting paid by Central Casting, check out our Guide to Central Casting Payroll.

Now that you know the basics of being a Central Casting Background Actor, bookmark your location’s Talent page for all the information you need to find background work and check back every Monday for new articles with the latest Central Casting news, tips to get booked, and guides for how to be a professional on set.