Film Career · Casting
Extras Casting Assistant
Casting · Teamsters Local 399 (casting directors); varies
- Union
- Teamsters Local 399
- Day rate
- ~$50K–$250K/yr
- Experience
- 1–4 yrs
What does an Extras Casting Assistant do?
The extras casting assistant supports the senior members of the casting department, handling the preparation and follow-through that keep the department moving.
Union coverage for the position varies: teamsters local 399 (casting directors); varies. The role is engaged show by show, and careers in casting are built on the department heads and crews who hire the same trusted people back.
What does an Extras Casting Assistant make?
- This is an entry or assistant chair, toward the lower end of its department's range.
- Casting is paid per project or weekly: assistants and coordinators run modest day rates, and casting directors roughly $25K-$100K+ per feature.
- Roughly $50K-$250K a year (Teamsters Local 399 covers casting directors in the West).
Film work is gig based, so crew are paid a day or weekly rate rather than a salary. These are realistic 2024-2025 ranges grounded in union rate cards and industry data; actual pay swings with budget tier, market, overtime, and reputation.
Sources & how we estimate pay
Union scale is the floor; the ranges above also reflect market day rates above scale. They are grounded in the following 2024–2025 sources:
Union rate cards & wage schedules
Official guild scale — the floor each craft is paid from.
- IATSE — 2024 Basic Agreement wage scales (PDF) ↗
- IATSE Local 600 (International Cinematographers Guild) — camera rate cards ↗
- DGA — minimum salary rate cards (director, unit production manager, assistant directors) ↗
- WGA — schedule of minimums (writers) ↗
- SAG-AFTRA — theatrical & background rate sheets (cast, stunts, background) ↗
- Teamsters Local 399 — basic feature wage rates, 2024–27 (transportation, locations, wranglers) (PDF) ↗
You’ll like and be good at this job if:
Hard skills
- You know talent and can run auditions and deals
Soft skills
- You anticipate what the crew needs and stay a step ahead
- You have the energy for long days and a good attitude under pressure
Career progression
The role advances the way most casting careers do: repeat hires from the same department heads, growing responsibility within the craft, and a reputation that travels between productions faster than any resume.
How do you become an Extras Casting Assistant?
This is a chair you can target directly: productions staff it from applicants with related skills and from people already working nearby on the crew. Get onto sets in any capacity, tell the department what you want, and be ready when a slot opens.
Covered by a union? The joining a film union guide explains how each one takes members.