I get a lot of good tips from people who have been working as Extras a long time. Mostly names of other casting agencies to sign with, I'm registered with 7 now....more on that later.
The other night I got a tip of a completely different stripe. I see so many notices for BG work asking for people with NYPD uniforms.....and I'm thinking are there a host of off duty police officers doing this Extra work? What is the deal? I finally get some answers on my job working for Blue Bloods (a cop show for those not in the know). I'm a witness or victim (ultimately wound up not mattering in this case as long I interact with the desk cop). I ask my fellow bg actor, who is dressed head to toe as a policeman, if he is a police officer in real life. He laughs and says he is brick layer. I ask him about the uniform and he says he bought it years ago and uses it all the time for his Extra gigs. He wisely mentors me to invest in buying a cop uniform--says it'll pay for itself in just a few gigs. I ask him "you can just go buy a cop uniform?!!" He says, "yeah, just take your vouchers and paychecks to Juniors Police Equipment, Inc to show you do extra work and you can buy police gear head to toe. If you buy the winter jacket, probably cost a total of $200-$250." Who would have thought?! Wild.... He even had his real name engraved on his police badge. FYI, it is illegal to dress as a police officer in public, so when out of the studio, actors have to wear a shirt to cover their uniform.
The next day while filming on The Slap, I spoke to a woman "police officer" BG actor. I asked her how often does she use her uniform for extra work. She said if I had a uniform, I can work 5 days a week, no problem, if I wanted to. There are so many cop/lawyer shows that need extras with police uniforms.
SO NEXT BIG INVESTMENT------A COP UNIFORM! Cool....Bob loves the idea. I'll have him take photos of me so I can post them with my other casting pics.
So yes, most likely an excellent investment which I will make, but still.....means I'm not going to see any profit/fun money from my Extra work for another chunk of time. All this pouring back into my new career is a real lesson in business management.
The other night I got a tip of a completely different stripe. I see so many notices for BG work asking for people with NYPD uniforms.....and I'm thinking are there a host of off duty police officers doing this Extra work? What is the deal? I finally get some answers on my job working for Blue Bloods (a cop show for those not in the know). I'm a witness or victim (ultimately wound up not mattering in this case as long I interact with the desk cop). I ask my fellow bg actor, who is dressed head to toe as a policeman, if he is a police officer in real life. He laughs and says he is brick layer. I ask him about the uniform and he says he bought it years ago and uses it all the time for his Extra gigs. He wisely mentors me to invest in buying a cop uniform--says it'll pay for itself in just a few gigs. I ask him "you can just go buy a cop uniform?!!" He says, "yeah, just take your vouchers and paychecks to Juniors Police Equipment, Inc to show you do extra work and you can buy police gear head to toe. If you buy the winter jacket, probably cost a total of $200-$250." Who would have thought?! Wild.... He even had his real name engraved on his police badge. FYI, it is illegal to dress as a police officer in public, so when out of the studio, actors have to wear a shirt to cover their uniform.
The next day while filming on The Slap, I spoke to a woman "police officer" BG actor. I asked her how often does she use her uniform for extra work. She said if I had a uniform, I can work 5 days a week, no problem, if I wanted to. There are so many cop/lawyer shows that need extras with police uniforms.
SO NEXT BIG INVESTMENT------A COP UNIFORM! Cool....Bob loves the idea. I'll have him take photos of me so I can post them with my other casting pics.
So yes, most likely an excellent investment which I will make, but still.....means I'm not going to see any profit/fun money from my Extra work for another chunk of time. All this pouring back into my new career is a real lesson in business management.
Rose - I am totally nonplussed. What an interesting blog and interesting side of you! Keep writing. I want to see how it all unfolds.
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