Actor Mark Duplass calls out people who treat background actor as “2nd class citizens”.
Mark David Duplass is a film director and producer, actor, musician, screenwriter, and author. He was a co-star of the FX television series “The League,” and has since worked on several major productions including “The Mindy Project,” “Big Mouth,” and the upcoming Untitled Roger Ailes Project. On April 5th, the actor tweeted to his 400,000+ followers demanding background actors receive respect.
“Continually appalled at how background actors are treated as 2nd class citizens. If you see this happening, please gently bring it to the attention of the offender(s) and ask them to reconsider their approach. It’s an odd blind spot in our industry.”
Continually appalled at how background actors are treated as 2nd class citizens. If you see this happening, please gently bring it to the attention of the offender(s) and ask them to reconsider their approach. It’s an odd blind spot in our industry.
— Mark Duplass (@MarkDuplass) April 5, 2019
Followers responded applauding the actor for standing up for those who can not risk their acting careers.
One follower commented, “Yes — finally, someone higher up starting this conversation. If I had a dollar for every time, I heard a disrespectful comment about BG I’d have a dollar from almost EVERY set I’ve been on. We are all trying to make a living.”
Background actors are the unsung heroes of many motion pictures. They are the “living furniture” that make scenes come alive. Without their help, audience scenes, reaction scenes, and other pivotal moments in movies could never happen. But, that does not mean they are rewarded for their work. The Academy does not offer an award for the best “Background Actor” in a major motion picture, they are not the highest paid person on a production, and as writer, director, and actor Mark Duplass pointed out in a recent tweet, they are not usually treated the best on set.
Hopefully, more actors will stand up for background actors, using their platform to demand equal treatment on set.
