There are pros and cons to every aspect of the Entertainment Business and a lot of panic about what NOT to do. If you and your child actor have been around the business for any amount of time, you will have heard pros and a lot of panicky cons about taking work as an extra or background.

You will hear things like not to include extra work on a resume. You’ll hear that extra work isn’t considered to be “real” acting. You’ll hear that most extras never go on to “real” acting gigs. And in general, these generalizations are true.

However, there are some very good reasons you may want to consider extra work for your child actor when you are considering whether or not to get involved in professional acting. Here are five reasons that extra work may be a great introduction to your child actor’s career.

1) No Auditions – 90% of the time, when your child is called, they are booked. The other 10%, either you were too slow and others booked ahead of you or they need a particular skill or look and will require an audition or fitting (and wardrobe time is paid).

2) Get Paid – If you book the job, you show up with your child actor and your child gets paid. This is especially important if you have to take off from work to bring your child. You will do a lot of driving and taking off from work to go to auditions before booking your first job. Every so often, a booked extra gig gets canceled for reasons beyond your or your agent’s control. But most of the time, if you accept the booking, your child works and gets paid.

3) Gain Set Experience – TV and Movie Sets have a lot of rules and not all children are cut out for it. The hardest rule to live with on is the unwritten rule of “hurry up and wait.” TV and Movie sets are actually very boring between the waiting for set-up, to sitting in the homework room completing the compulsory on-set study time, to doing the same actions over and over and over again. It is great to get that experience relatively quickly before investing a lot of time driving to auditions and classes and headshots and demo-reels.

4) Tax Deductions – All of the money you spend on headshots, classes, driving, casting services are just money out of your pocket until your child actually gets paid. You will want to check the tax laws as they change all the time, but many of your child’s acting expenses become tax deductions as soon as they start getting paid.

5) Get Paid – did I say that already? Well, that’s because that is likely the biggest reason people considering acting careers for their children consider extra work. With all of the things you have to pay for, its good to have a payday every once in a while.

Now of course, there are some myths about extra work that are not true.
Most extras aren’t “discovered” and made into instant stars for that matter, neither are most working actors. Yes, there are times when your child will get a bump for doing something special, but again, you can’t depend on bumps or instant stardom.

But if you and your child are getting into acting solely to become as star, you are more likely to be disappointed than walking the red carpet. However, if your child has some skills and likes the process, you still have to go about the business of acting and build it with a solid base for auditions and potential future acting jobs.

Related Posts:

10 Questions for Potential Actor’ Moms

On Set Behavior for Acting Kids

Preparing for Auditions

So You Think Your Kid Can be a Successful Child Actor

The Casting Process Part 1

The Casting Process Part 2