Could coronavirus spell the end of background actors?

Deadline

Several recommendations for restarting TV and movie productions have one thing in common: eliminating crowd scenes and reducing the number of background performers. "Their job is to be invisible, blending into the background so as not to distract from the principal actors’ scenes while providing depth to each shot, bringing to life a restaurant or city street that otherwise would be eerily empty. Now, however, background performers could truly disappear," says Deadline's Nellie Andreeva. "Already threatened by the advancement in special effects that create computer-generate crowds, the background acting community is bracing for possible extinction in the wake of COVID-19."