Casting Calls for Extras: What Happens After You Reply

After you tap "Yes, I'm available," casting looks at your profile and decides what to do. You may hear back the same day, a week later, or not at all. Any answer that does come shows up in one place, which is Replies.

What happens when you reply

Your reply goes to the casting director who posted the role. They see your profile and photos along with your reply, and they compare you with what the scene needs. Casting mostly picks from photos, so the two things they see first are your face and your look.

A broad role, such as a general extra in a crowd, can draw anywhere from 20 to 500 replies or more. A narrow role gets fewer usable ones. Either way, casting goes through many replies at once, so a quiet few days is normal.

Reply to a role one time. Tapping again does not move you up. If you want to check on a role, look at Replies instead.

Where casting answers appear: Replies

Replies is the page where casting answers arrive. When there is something new, a red number appears so you know to look. Check it once or twice a day while you are waiting. Many roles are booked for the next day or two, so a message can be time sensitive.

Open the page in your phone's browser and read each message in full. A message may include dates, instructions, or a question you need to answer.

Your Calendar helps here too. When you mark a date available and you live in the area, casting sees a small calendar icon on your profile for that date, which makes it easier for them to check whether you are free. The icon does not replace your reply, though. Mark your Calendar and also reply to the roles you want.

Availability request

An availability request asks if you are free. Casting is checking before they decide, so a request is not yet a booking. Check the dates against your own plans and your Calendar. If you are free, say so right away. If you are not, say that clearly and early.

Casting sometimes sends a lot of these. To fill 100 spots, a casting office may send 400 availability requests, and for a single role it may send just 2. Getting one means you are on the list. It does not promise a booking. For more on the two request types, see availability request or booking request.

Booking request

A booking request means casting wants to book you. Read it carefully. It may include the date, the call time, where to go, and what to wear or bring. Reply as soon as you can to confirm, and keep the details somewhere you can find them on the day.

A production is counting on you once you accept, and a scene may be planned around you being there.

Confirmed bookings

Once a booking is set, you will find it under Confirmed bookings in Replies. Think of it as your list of days you have said yes to. Look at it the night before a shoot day so you know the time and place, and put the day on your own phone calendar as well.

You cannot cancel a booking on the website. If something changes, email or call the casting company that booked you. Your Calendar has an "email casting" link for this, and only the casting company can remove a booking. Do it as early as you can.

For a second day, the assistant directors on set may give you the next call time. If they do not, the casting office that booked you sends it. Casting pays attention to who is easy to book again, so answer emails, texts, and calls.

Extras are usually paid through a payroll company, not by casting. Pay normally arrives by check or direct deposit in 2 to 4 weeks, and the pay article explains the rest. Keep your own record of each day, with the call time and when you were released.

If you hear nothing

Not every reply leads to a booking. Casting may need only a few people with a specific look, and many people reply to each role. Silence is common, and it rarely means you did anything wrong.

Do not reply to the same role again. Keep your Calendar current, make sure your photos look like you today, and reply to the next role that fits. The article on when you are not picked offers more on staying steady.

Before your first booked day

A booking sets a plan in motion, and a few small things make the day smoother. Casting usually emails wardrobe guidelines the evening before, so watch your email that night. Plan to bring about 3 looks in plain clothes, with solid colors and no logos.

On the day, you check in with the assistant directors and fill out your start paperwork. Bring a driver's license and Social Security card, or a passport. Arrive 15 minutes early, since that is what on time means. Your first week as an extra shows the order of a first day in more detail.

Your next step

Open Replies now and see whether anything is waiting. To get faster at answering, read how to reply fast and reply once.