Trish Berry, January 7, 2025
I worked as an extra in theater movies on occasion when we lived in the Washington, D.C., area. Our son was a model/actor for two years. Parents of the young actors were contacted when adult stand-ins or extras (those standing around in a crowd, dining at a table, sitting at a bar) were needed.
The first movie I was in was ‘Broadcast News,’ a movie starring Holly Hunter and William Hurt, a 1987 movie. The filming was at the Marriot Hotel in downtown D.C., a ritzy hotel at that time.
We lower-paid cast members were required to bring our own clothing, a ball gown in my case for Broadcast News. I had no ball gown, so I went to the nearest thrift store (this is how I got hooked on thrift stores), and found a beautiful blue ball gown. I felt like a princess in blue floating above the floor. After filming was concluded on the movie, I returned the dress (after cleaning) to the same thrift store. It was resold to someone else in need of a ball gown, and the money was given to me. Using that dress for that movie shoot did not cost me any money.
When I arrived at the movie set, I was sent to the makeup station where my hair was updo-ed, my makeup applied, and they adorned me with fancy jewelry. My photo was taken. The photos were taken to ensure that an actor is identical in appearance if a shooting lasts for more than one day. The next day, I would dress the same, wear my hair the same way, have my makeup applied the same way, and this could be verified by looking at the photo from the day before, or the day before that, or the day before that. We had to always look the same for each day of filming.
I was put in 5” heels. I stood on a marble floor for eight hours a day. My feet were in agony the entire time during that filming. As extras, many of us stood around pretending to talk by just moving our lips, because there are only so many things to talk about for eight hours. We smiled, we pretended to talk, we pretended to laugh, whenever shooting began. That is the life of an extra.
Being in a movie, doing photo shoots for catalogs and newspaper ads, is a lot of hard work. The days are long. The clothing not always comfortable. BUT, there is always the craft table, where food is provided for all members of the cast. My first time tasting a walnut tart was at a crafts table of food on a movie set.
My exposure to the glam movie world helped solidify my love for beautiful clothing, beautiful accessories and lower-heeled shoes.
Here is a list of some of my favorite stores:
Macy’s
Nordstrom’s
Lily Pulitzer
Zara
Neiman Marcus
Bloomingdale’s
Saks Fifth Avenue
Bergdorf Goodman
These stores are not located near where I live anymore, so I order online if I see something I really like. You can check Amazon.com or other online clothing outlets for something that fits your taste.
A maxi makes me look like a tall green bean. Below is me in a maxi. I look long. Midi is better on me.
Whatever you wear, make you you. Be you. Be no one else. Your style in clothing is you. If you choose to go high fashion, that’s great. If you choose simplicity over complex, that’s great. Just be you. Have fun.
Smile at the ones sitting at the table with you. Laugh with the ones with you. Have fun.
Thanks for reading.
Trish
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