If you follow Vanessa Hudgens on Instagram, you know she has a tall, gorgeous boyfriend named Austin Butler. If you know that, then you probably also know he’s the guy who played little Carrie Bradshaw’s boyfriend on The Carrie Diaries. But when I knew Austin, he was a regular kid, without a girlfriend, who loved video games and hanging with friends. I know that because one of those friends was me. See, Austin and I used to be extras on TV together. I know, I know — he became a successful, real-life actor, while who am I? Allow me to explain.
I was a background actress from 2005 until 2007. If you’re thinking, OMG, were you famous? Let me shut you down right there. I was far from it. But I was doing something that none of the other kids I knew were doing, and that was pretty damn cool.
If you grew up watching all the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows in the early 2000s — shows that your kids will sadly never have the pleasure of knowing — chances are you’ve seen me on your TV screen. I’ve acted in That’s So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Unfabulous, Zoey 101, and Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, to name a few of my credits. As a TV extra, my job was to be that blurry figure walking past the important actors in the background. The whole point of people like us was to “fill in,” so the high school or mall you’re seeing doesn’t look like some creepy, abandoned building where Chucky would find and kill you.
I never wanted to be an actress. I still don’t and probably never will. I got into background acting because my dad thought I could put my spastic, outgoing little personality to good use (love you, Dad). One day, he took me to a talent agency in L.A. where I lived, and I signed up to be called for any show that needed or liked me. The rest is history.
My very first callback was for the Bernie Mac Show (R.I.P.). I’ll never forget it. I remember waking up early to make my 6 a.m. call time. They told me what to wear prior, and in my scene, I played a kid waiting in line to ride a hot air balloon. They placed me in the front of the line, which I thought was incredible because, duh, my face would be front and center. Then, long story short, they ended up moving me to the very back by the third take, which my dad swears ’til this day is because I wouldn’t stop fixing my hair. So sue me. I remember being so upset that I almost cried — until I found an iPod on the ground that no one claimed and got to take it home. You win some, you lose some.
My experience as an extra after that was absolutely fabulous. I pretty much never had to go to class all throughout middle school (my parents worked out a deal with my school so I could be taught on set). I went to the Ned’s Declassified wrap party, which was great because they had bowls of free candy and I was one of only four “regular extras” invited. Exclusive AF. I met all the Disney and Nickelodeon stars you know and love: Raven-Symoné, Cole and Dylan Sprouse, Jamie Lynn Spears ... and I even got to play a “hot girl” (not my words, written in the script) with an attitude who rolled my eyes on camera. That was obviously the highlight of my very short career.
It wasn’t all glorious hot-girl side-eyeing and eye rolls though. Being an extra is a lot of waiting around. Most days, we’d sit in a room for hours, while our parents waited in a separate room. The set tutor would teach us for two hours out of the day and the rest of the time we’d try to keep ourselves occupied by reading whatever books or playing whatever video games the producers left out for us. When we were finally able to leave our room for an hour here and there, it was to film the same scene over and over again until being released for the day. We’d start around 6 or 7 a.m. and leave around 8 or 9 p.m.
Despite the grueling hours, it was fun for a little rugrat my age, and it was a story no one else I knew got to tell. It was special. I made friends, got my five seconds of fame, and actually had something interesting to say when a teacher put everyone through hell with the dreaded “tell the class a fun fact about yourself” opener. (My classmates were so amazed that they voted me "Most Likely to Become a Star" in the 12th grade yearbook. I still shed a little tear every time I think about it.)
I stopped background acting just in time for high school, in part because my dad couldn’t keep taking time off work, in part because I didn’t actually want to pursue a career as an actress. My parents always thought maybe I would. They even took me to a few commercial auditions, which I didn’t get. But I think after it all ended and I never brought up the prospect again, they knew it wasn’t for me. I was never going to be the next Angelina Jolie. I never even tried booking a lead role.
Long after I was done with the extra life and was finally able to touch the “acting money” that my parents kept for me for when I turned 18, I had thousands of dollars saved. Who knew? Naturally, once I got it, I blew it all in six months. Hey, I was 18 and needed clothes/lots of Swedish fish. I attended St. John’s University in New York City and majored in journalism. I’m now working as a social media editor at Cosmopolitan.com (which is still pretty fucking cool).
So, sure, I once played video games in a little room with a kid that is now Vanessa Hudgens’s boyfriend. Sure, he went on to get a lead role in a show that I’ve streamed online from the comfort of my tiny studio apartment. And sure, he has a better head of hair than I do. But once upon a time, we were both just background actors. And I’ll always have that photo of me awkwardly standing next to Zack and Cody to remind me of a past life that was one hell of a ride.
