(Non-Union) Background Actor for a Film that Doesn’t Exist (on a Coffee Break)

Artist Statement

(Non-Union) Background Actor for a Film that Doesn’t Exist (on a Coffee Break) is a humorous take on the absurdity of working as a “film extra”, or background actor. The piece consists of a head-to-toe costume, props, and prosthetic makeup on a very bored performer, showcasing not just the amount of effort and planning it takes to make a character look “organic” but also how quickly the alien can become banal when faced with sitting in a tent for 13 hours. The process of documenting the appearances of recurring background actors to prevent continuity mistakes takes on a borderline forensic tone. It’s stilted and clinical, and no one is happy because their call time was 6:30 AM.

I decided on this project after working as a background actor myself on and off for the majority of my time at ECUAD. I watched games of themed film set bingo, rounds of poker played with sugar packets, and free tarot card readings. The contrast between the well-oiled machine that is a filmset and the tent next to it wherein the occupants are reenacting the Lord of the Flies with half eaten sandwiches and half done university assignments open on their laptops is something I find fascinating, frustrating, and endlessly endearing.

The arm bracer was made using EVA foam and flexible acrylic paints, while recycled electronics and 3D printed parts using PLA were used to create the breathing mask apparatus.

The silicone prosthetic was created by first making a mold of the model’s face, and then sculpting on top of it to create a second mold to be cast in silicone latex. The appliances were then applied to the model’s face using Telesis, a skin-safe glue used in SFX makeup for film.

A special and enormous thank you to my very patient model, Nu Whiteley, and my photographers Fatemeh Pourseyed and Greg Hansen (who wanted me to mention that he himself was a background actor in the original Happy Gilmore).