DREAMS FROM THE BACKGROUND Background Talent By Gl or i Amador
You quickly learn that background talent is a big community of people loving the industry, wanting to make extra cash and willing to help.
background casting companies, I landed on Central Casting’s website. Before I knew it, I had submitted my application and scheduled an appointment to meet. I walked in trying to figure out how I could escape if they asked me to pay for any kind of services. But after 3 hours of filling out paperwork, reviewing their presentation about their company, hearing the do’s and don’ts about background work, and taking my photos, I headed out the door asking myself, “was this a waste of time?” Before I even got home, I got a text from one of the casting agents asking if I was available for “BIG RED”, code name to a pretty premier film. With a little hesitation, some excitement, and plenty of surprise, I said yes…and that was my first booking. It’s a little frightening being almost 50 years old and going to your first filming, figuring out what to do, who to see, etc. But you quickly learn that background talent is a big community of people loving the industry, wanting to make extra cash and willing to help. I found myself on Genius Aretha being transported to 1967, with hair and make-up artists dolling me up and I’m wearing a beautiful silver glittery gown. As the nightclub scene unfolded, I was positioned to walk around (typical of background work). Aretha was being played by Cynthia Erivo, who was Oscar nominated for her role in Harriet . But then Erivo summoned me to go on stage and perform as Lena Horne. I began to tell her I wasn’t cast for it, but she got up and walked over to the director to find out what was going on. Imagine, a big star like her being so invested in me! No, I didn’t get to play Lena Horne. I was just excited that I got noticed by her and then placed in front of the camera as much as possible for the rest of filming. A few bookings later, I accepted a casting for the pilot of DMZ with Rosario Dawson, Benjamin Bratt, Josh Pais, and director Ava Duvernay. This was a cattle call of background talent, as 800 of us showed up to do a NYC evacuation scene. I had never worked in such a big setting before and I had sworn I never would: I felt it would be chaos—but it was extremely organized. We were outside and freezing, so decided we would be
runners to stay warm. 5 minutes later, we realized we would be running for 8-10 hours, (we ended up filming for 15 hours) so we changed to be walkers. That placed us in the main camera area. So much so, Rosario noticed me and was nice enough to give me compliments about my grey hair and make-up, saying, “You are the prettiest, fanciest evacuee.” I thanked her and said, “We evacuate pretty in NYC.” She calls over Ava, the Director, to look at me. I blushed so much even my tanned Latina skin tone couldn’t hide it. As we continued to film, I hear Ava ask, “Where’s the lady with the white hair?” As I turn around to see what’s going on, Ava is calling me over. Of course, I turn around to see if she’s calling someone else. She grabbed my hand as she looked for a camera—I felt like a 5-year-old being taken to the principal’s office! She asked the camera woman in what direction she was shooting, saying to me, “With your beautiful face, your hair and make-up, your face needs to be in front of the camera.” Before I knew it, I was being featured. This all happened within 4 weeks of signing on to do background talent work. Now I’m obsessed with the film industry and taking acting classes—never too late to start, folks! I’m confident that as Atlanta continues its journey in the film industry, more work will come and soon enough, I hope to land a prominent feature speaking role. So, for those of you out there who want to get into the film industry, this is a good steppingstone. I advise you to bring your “A Game”. Come prepared—make- up and hair done immaculately, clothes cleaned and ironed (I was surprised to see how some people show up), arrive on time, be professional, listen to your PA/ AD, and follow directions. These are simple things that can get you noticed and take you to the next level. Oh, and be QUIET on set. This is the biggest challenge for background talent but the most frustrating for your PA/ AD. Overall, be prepared to have a long day, meet lots of people (many will become friends), and have fun. I’ll see you on set!
Glori Amador
L eaving NYC as an Executive at Christian Dior to follow my husband to Atlanta, I thought to take a few months off, get acquainted with what I now understood as being “Hotlanta”, come up for air, and spend time writing “Life of Glori” a book about my life. That didn’t last very long! I got bored and wondered what fun thing I could try while I write. Some Googling, reading a few articles, and coming across good reviews for some
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