When it comes to making movies, there are often hundreds of people involved in the action both in front of and behind the cameras. For scenes that involve a bunch of people milling about in the background, studios hire extras, which are often actors and non-professionals whose sole job is to fill a requirement, and not “make a scene.”
In most cases, an extra has no lines to say, and just a simple action or two to perform. Walk about this area or look like your reading a paper… maybe mutter “peas and carrots” to fill in some background noise, but that’s usually it, so when an extra does something out of the ordinary, it’s pretty noticeable.
Typically when this happens, the director yells “cut” and the scene is done over again properly. Every once in a while, an extra does something that either isn’t noticed, or it’s ignored. If this ends up getting cut later on, all the better, but occasionally, these scenes make it to print.
When that happens, a scene ends up either being ruined or improved by the actions of an extra. These ten are hardly the only examples of a movie scene ruined by an extra, but they certainly are the most memorable.
Jaws – Jubilant Man Rushes To The Shore
Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is one of the most important movies in film history. It’s considered to be the first true summer blockbuster, and it stands as one of the best films in the genre. That genre is a combination of action and horror thanks to the presence of a gigantic Great White Shark.
In most cases, people flee in terror when a shark that large enters into a swimming area, and that’s what most people did in Jaws. During a scene when it is apparent the giant shark has entered into a swimming area, hundreds of concerned parents rush to the shoreline to try and find their loved ones.
Then there’s this guy who trotted down to the water as if he was moving up in the line to ride the teacups at Disney World. The look on his face is about as misplaced and inappropriate as is humanly possible, but it somehow made it to print.
To be fair, he’s only on screen for a second or two, but eagle-eyed viewers caught the look on this extra’s face, and the scene was forever ruined by one man who clearly was having the time of his life “acting” in a Hollywood film.
Teen Wolf – Guy With His Fly Down
Teen Wolf is a movie all about acceptance and determination when confronted with a deformity… or, it’s about a kid who finds out he’s a werewolf and milks it for all its worth. Whatever the film was supposed to be about, the final scene was forever ruined by a single extra.
As the image changes to a cheering crowd, one can’t help but focus on a single person standing near-center at the back of the bleachers. Is that a guy with his fly down? Yes and no. For years, this was called the “Balls out” or “D**k’s out” scene from Teen Wolf, but it may have actually been a woman, not a man.
Frankly, that hardly matters in the grand scope of things. Whatever gender the extra actually was, it certainly looks like there was a fellow in the back row who got a little too excited about the high school basketball game he was watching.
It’s a strange thing to see, and whether you see a penis there or not, all anyone could talk about when walking out of the theater was the strange person in the back who appeared to be playing with themselves when they should have been cheering for Michael J. Fox like everyone else was.
Planet Of The Apes – Weak Ape Can’t Throw
1968’s Planet of the Apes is one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made, but even that classic wasn’t immune to the distracting extra. During a scene in which Charlton Heston is caught running through the city, apes of all kinds jeer, point, and throw things at him.
You might think that an ape would be able to throw some fruit at a guy seeing as they are known for chucking their poo at zoo visitors around the world, but there was one ape who nobody would choose to be the pitcher on their all-ape softball team.
It’s fair to say that not everyone can throw a piece of fruit at Charlton Heston… the man was a legend, but when the director tells you to fire off a fruit at the man, it’s something you’ve got to do.
Unfortunately, this one ape found it so hard to do, she barely fired off her fruit more than a couple of feet. It’s funny, it’s distracting, and it shuts down the intensity of the whole scene if you happen to catch it on first viewing. It was such a weak, limp-wristed toss, it looked absolutely unreal and ridiculous.
Goodfellas – Diner Has A Very Noticeable Guy Looking Around
One of the most ardent rules of any actor… and especially extras, is to not look at the camera. There’s a scene in Martin Scorcese’s Goodfellas where an extra took that instruction and really ran with it. While that’s good, and it shouldn’t be distracting, it absolutely is.
This is a serious scene in which Ray Liotta’s character is learning that he might be in trouble of getting caught. It’s not a scene that needs anything distracting the attention of the viewer, but then there’s this guy sitting behind Robert DeNiro who you can’t help but notice.
To be fair, the extra is doing what he was told. He is eating his food and looking around, but the framing was shot in such a way that his face is completely visible just over DeNiro’s right shoulder.
Liotta has an extra behind him, but their back is to the camera, which leaves the other extra on full display anytime the camera pans back to DeNiro. The extra does everything he can not to look at the camera, which looks all the weirder since he’s sitting there all alone. It doesn’t take long before the viewer’s focus shifts behind DeNiro, and it’s the only thing you can see… once you see it.
North By Northwest – Kid Knows The Shot Is Coming
Anyone who’s seen his work knows Alfred Hitchcock to have been a meticulous filmmaker. Because of his devotion to the craft, there aren’t a great deal of goofs or mistakes throughout his large library of films. That being said, one of his greatest movies has an incredibly memorable goof.
North By Northwest is a serious film that culminates with a scene in a large restaurant where Eva Marie Saint points a gun at Cary Grant and pulls the trigger. It’s an incredibly important scene, and clearly a serious moment, but the whole thing is spoiled once you notice the kid sitting at the table in the back.
They must have shot this scene a number of times because the shot that made it to print clearly has a young boy sitting at a table with his fingers in his ears long before a shot is fired. In fact, he is eyeing the actors out of the corner of his eye prior to the gunshot so he can anticipate the right moment to cover his ears.
It’s one of those things that’s entirely excusable, but it really shouldn’t have made it to the final cut of the movie. He’s there with his fingers in his ears, and once you see that, it completely spoils the scene from that moment forward.
Mr. Nanny – Dude Chucks His Dog In The Water
Mr. Nanny is one of those movies that most people probably haven’t seen, and there’s a good reason for that: it’s not a very good movie. Despite being a completely forgettable movie from the early ’90s, there was one scene at the very end that keeps people talking about it.
At the end of the movie, Hulk Hogan gets on his hog and goes for a ride. It’s one of those long-ish scenes that’s akin to riding off in the sunset in a western, and while it accomplishes that just fine, there’s something going on in the background that has drawn all sorts of questions since the movie was released.
About 15 seconds into the scene, the Hulkster passes by a body of water, but just as this happens, a man throws a dog into the water like he’s chucking out the garbage. It’s strange and entirely inexplicable, but it made it into the final cut of the movie.
Like most of the examples on this list, it’s one of those things you might not have seen on first viewing, but once it’s pointed out, it’s the only thing you see in that scene.
Back To The Future III – That Kid Has To Go Pee…
Sometimes, working with children on a movie set can be hard work. There are rules and regulations that stipulate how long they can work, and they require constant supervision. That’s a good thing… we are talking about children here, but even so, it can make a scene difficult to shoot.
For the final scene of Back to the Future Part III, Marty and Jennifer are surprised when Doc Brown shows up in a modified steam engine he created in the past. He’s no longer by himself at this point, and after saying hello to Clara, they are introduced to the couple’s two boys, Jules and Verne.
If you look at the youngest boys’ hands, he starts to point towards his crotch during the scene while looking off-camera at someone who is probably a member of the crew. While some people have speculated online that he was pointing to his wiener for a lascivious reason, any discerning viewer could tell that kid had to take a leak!
This was one of those things that went unnoticed when it was shot and somehow made it into the final cut. Perhaps it was the best shot and they didn’t want to continue to make it work while hoping nobody would notice, but now that the Internet is a thing, that’s not how it went down.
Ghostbusters – Guy Is Way Too Happy In Every Shot
While most of us would be absolutely jubilant to see the Ghostbusters come by, there’s excited and then there’s so excited you need to relax. The latter perfectly describes the fellow who showed up in a scene in the first film in the franchise. He’s become so recognizable, folks call him the Red Haired Extra.
It’s one thing to be excited to be on a movie set, but this guy’s level of excitement was so extreme, he actually stole the scene from the main characters. He was likely told to act happy and enthusiastic, but you should never have been able to hear him yell, “Ghostbusters! Alright!” at the top of his lungs.
Unlike most stories about extras, this one has a bit of an explanation. The man in question was one Eldo Ray Estes, a Hollywood makeup artist. He has since spoken out about why he acted as excited as he did in the scene.
According to Estes, he just wanted to be seen on camera, which makes sense since that’s what most people want when they work on a movie. That being said, the man really could have toned it down just a touch so he didn’t take the scene away from the proper actors.
Quantum Of Solace – Sweeping Absolutely Nothing
A lot of times, extras are given menial tasks you might expect to see someone doing in the backgrounds of scenes. This could be anything from reading a newspaper or book to walking a dog or feeding the birds. Whatever the task, it has to be done over and over again as the scene is shot, often with numerous takes.
This can get boring, but when it comes to doing extra work, hardly anyone wants to actually do real work over and over again. That was clearly the case for one fellow working in the background of a scene in Quantum of Solace.
The man was meant to be sweeping up, which wouldn’t be distracting at all until you see what he’s sweeping: absolutely nothing at all. The guy is clearly moving the boom about, but several inches above the ground. Unless he’s trying to shoo away dust mites, he’s not going to get much done.
To be fair, he probably got tired of shoving the broom along the floor over and over again. Even so, he was terribly noticeable because he wasn’t doing that. He was just moving the broom about like a crazy person, which is why a simple action that would have otherwise gone unnoticed became a complete distraction tot he scene.
Enter The Dragon – An Extra Can’t Keep His Composure
For most people, watching a master like Bruce Lee work would be a somber sight. Just seeing someone who was so in tune with his body and mind go about beating the ever-loving crap out of someone would be awe-inspiring, and for the most part, it was.
In a scene in Lee’s final film released just after he passed, he engages with a man while many others are watching by. They all look as tough as possible so as to set the mood. This isn’t a friendly occasion by any means, and that’s why Lee repeatedly kicks a guy in the face three times before allowing him to drop to the ground.
For most people watching that, it would be amazing, but then there’s this one extra in the back who thought it was absolutely hilarious! If you watch closely, just as the third kick is delivered, he breaks out into a goofy grin and laughter.
What’s worse, he never regained his composure and the scene made it into the final cut of the movie. It’s hard to see it on first viewing, but after watching this guy giggle at Bruce Lee’s kicks, it’s impossible not to see it every time you watch Enter the Dragon.
