An extra is an
actor who acts in a film/movie, television or theatre
production, and usually doesn't have a speaking role.
Extras perform in the background of a scene to give
the illusion that a scene is real life. For example,
the lead actor in a movie might go into a bank.
He may greet the bank guard as he
enters the bank. He may stand in line with other bank
customers. And, he may have his bank transaction performed
by the bank teller. In this example, the bank guard,
customers and bank teller would be considered extras,
particularly if they don't have significant speaking
roles.
Some extras do have very small speaking roles. For example,
in the previous example, the bank teller might briefly
speak to the lead character about the weather. In this
example, the bank teller would be considered a featured
extra, because the teller is still a nameless character in
the movie, which means the teller is still considered an
extra, but they are "featured" extras because they had a
brief speaking role.
