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Jack_Q_Frost_Jr t1_jacd3ry wrote

Hi. I'll try to answer.

I don't think they always change. On The Original Series there were several actors that were regularly in the background or used for playing small roles. Yes, there were even actors as redshirts that got killed more than once. And there are different types of extras. Most extras come in for a day or two on an episode by episode basis, and will just be put at whatever station that helps make the screen look like it's filled with activity. Sometimes there are a small core group of regular extras that will appear in multiple episodes throughout the season and get paid a little more. I worked a background office worker extra on a TV show for two seasons. On the show Two Broke Girls, some of the regular diner patrons pulled double duty and worked as stand-in's for the main actors during set ups.

Day players (actors with one or more lines) are different. But, like extras, day players are not under a contract, so their appearances are subject to their availability. Basically Trek has always reused actors and does put some effort into trying to retain them, though it's not always possible, and keeping them at the same stations all the time is obviously not a priority.

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takeitassaid OP t1_jacesys wrote

Thank for the answer, sheds a little more light on what i asked about. I put too much of star trek stuff into the question i guess, what i am interested in is really only the production side for this question.

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Jack_Q_Frost_Jr t1_jacgl1e wrote

There's not a regulation or obligation for upping an extra to a semi-regular extra, or for promoting a day player to a cast member. It's all up to the producers to make those decisions. Colm Meaney is a good example of someone that started out as a day player with an unnamed character that was later given a name and promoted to full cast member. Sometimes it happens like that, but there's no official process for that to happen to every actor.

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takeitassaid OP t1_jaclii3 wrote

Thanks again for staying with what i really asked. Colm Meaney is probably the best example for this.

Seems it was a pretty obvious question, i just read that the Screen Actors Guild has some pretty strict rules about stuff like that. Just for example who is mentioned in the credits and where etc. Maybe, what i was thinking about, only applies to movies.

I guess i did overthink this one a bit.

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