From Star Wars to Bond: The 15 most memorable film extras

Most of these background actors made their mark without uttering a single word

There’s a tendency to underestimate how much work goes into being an extra. It’s not just an easy opportunity to bask in the glow of your favourite Hollywood A-listers.

These are long days that alternate between quick bursts of action and hours of standing around, patiently waiting to be called on again.

It’s almost always exhausting. On top of that, you have to accept that you’re one of the many key parts of the artistic process that will rarely get any credit, despite the fact that whatever’s happening in the background can have a huge impact on the mood of the scene.

A great reaction shot from an extra can instantly make us empathise with the situation at hand, while a bad one will quickly make the whole film feel cheap and lazy.

That said, sometimes thinking out of the box is the only way to get noticed. For better or worse, here are 15 movie extras that really made their mark, in the likes of Star Wars, The Dark Knight, and Jaws. And most of them achieved it all without uttering a single word.

Click through the gallery below.