I am telling you, there is something about someone being on time, nice, and friendly that just kind of wins you over. I remember, we had kids [in Chalk] that were just so good. And it doesn't mean they're going to be able to deliver the line — they have to not freeze up on camera and all that — but that really is something you notice. When someone knows their role, it's humbling, and you kind of want to lift them up and give them something. Like, our second [assistant director], Jeff Guerrero, [ended up in the film). We needed an extra teacher just sitting there, just a body, and then he was just so funny. I told him, "If something comes to mind, feel free to engage in the conversation." He didn't overdo it, but he was listening the whole time, so therefore his response and his line was very well-placed. It wasn't like he had his tine in his head and he was gonna go in there and say it. So his lines stayed in the film.

I actually did that in [Strangers With Candy]. It was a role where, because of the low budget, I was sort of forced to cast an extra even though it was a featured role.… I wouldn't [bump an extra up] if I didn't think that [he or she was] capable, and this girl was, although I gave her a very simple line. There are three sort of alpha girls [in the film]: Monica, Melissa, and Melanie. Two [Elisabeth Harnois and Alexis Dziena] are featured performers. So it's the third girl [Ivette Diaz Dumeng]. She had to follow the other two girls around, and she was in a lot of scenes. The other two girls got to keep talking, and she didn't get to say a word. So there's a party scene where Jerri [Amy Sedaris] freaks out on marijuana, and I gave [Dumeng] a line. That was the last day we shot, and she seemed pretty appreciative, and I was happy to do it. Being an actor myself, I just appreciated the job she was doing. It's a difficult situation to be in, being an extra. So for me, it was empathy, I suppose.…

Ideally, the No. 1 reason [for upgrading an extra] would be that it would help the scene, [and] even if it was sort of subconscious, I got the feeling that the audience would think it was weird that someone who was so prominently featured never spoke — like she was Harpo Marx or something and she was gonna pull out a horn from underneath her trench coat. So I guess that was also a motivation or maybe an equal motivation [for giving her a line]. Or maybe that was the primary motivation, now that I think about it. I felt that by her speaking, it sort of took that hex off, like, subconsciously, [the audience] wouldn't question why her character never spoke. It seemed more normal.…

On independent film, I bet [it doesn't happen] too often. They're trying to get as much out of an extra as [they possibly can] without having to pay diem a featured role salary. But, you know, it happened to me: When I was living in Chicago, I did [Howard Beach: Making a Case for Murder] with Daniel J. Travanti. I was hired as an extra and they bumped me up, but it was just luck, I think.… I would think in most instances, it's the reverse: They try to get as much out of somebody without paying them more.

To be honest, I don't know that I ever have bumped an extra up to a principal role on either a commercial or a movie. I have thought about it, though. Whenever the thought has crossed my mind, it has usually been [about] adding the actor to the mix of talent on set rather than replacing an actor. It has always been that someone has caught my attention; and it's usually the really visceral response of recognizing that an actor is wanting to work hard for you and wanting to acknowledge them for their hard work. It's just knowing that someone who is working so hard as background would work just as hard and as well as a principal. What I always take into consideration is pretty basic: Does he [or] she seem to be into it? Did he [or] she show up in good wardrobe for the scene? Seem to be engaged in what's going on? Is he [or] she conscious of the camera, of what is going on around them? Does he [or] she take direction from the assistant director well? If the answers to most of these questions are "yes," then I would be tempted to upgrade an actor, because they immediately seem like they will be an asset to the shoot.

I would bump an extra up if there was a last-minute idea or inspiration that required dialogue from someone other than the dayplayers or leads. I would first choose them based on whether they physically fit the role, and then I would ask them to give me a couple of readings of it so I was sure they understood the intent of the line. Truth is, this never happened on my film [Mini's First Time], but we were an indie with a tight budget, so every bump-up costs the production money dial would be used elsewhere, I couldn't even give my dad a line, and he was in a long scene as a featured extra. I imagine on studio films, where budgets are bigger, it's probably much more common.