The silent film The Extra Girl (1923) portrays a small-town girl who comes to Hollywood and becomes a background actor in her attempt to achieve stardom.
The television sitcom Extras follows the exploits of two professional background actors, Andy and Maggie. They spend most of their time on set looking for a speaking role and a boyfriend, respectively.
The Chinese-Hong Kong film I Am Somebody (2015) is about extras working at the Hengdian World Studios.