An 'Extra' Blog Post - Part II

To pick up where my last post, describing my experience as an extra on the set of a German TV production, left off, the first difference between my expectations and actual work as an extra was how easy it was to find the role. It was simply a matter of uploading pictures to the recruiting website and, a few weeks later, receiving an e-mail asking if I was available. From discussions with my New York contacts about the entertainment industry, roles in the US can be harder to come by (here is a link to one description of the process of getting work as an extra in the US).

          Another contrast between expectations and reality was the flexibility of the production staff regarding my broken toe. I was surprised at their willingness to work around my schedule (even if it still didn't work out quite as planned).

          Other differences (or even obstacles) between Germany and the US are more structural—for example, one's status as a non-union versus a union actor. Likewise, differences in national insurance systems mean that extras in the US who are confronted with unemployment or injury on the job might be subject to a specific set of regulations known as Workers' Compensation, and other financial issues might arise such as residuals and foreign royalties. For higher-profile actors, the right to control one's image and the potential need for an intimacy coordinator might also present different circumstances from what one might be accustomed to in the EU. And unfortunately, anyone in any capacity might be confronted with a situation in which she or he must know their rights when facing harassment.

          In light of these differences, anyone who has made a living in Germany as an extra subject to German employment law might be met with surprises if they try to move their work to the US. Access to local counsel can be useful, or maybe even critical, to navigating these differences.