Meet The First-Ever Winner Of Lifetime Achievement Award For 'Best Extra'

A lot of things matter while making a feature film. From destinations to actors, the filmmakers try their best to have the best in their movies so that they can create a mark on the audiences. But there is one aspect that viewers seem to forget while watching a movie — the people who are walking behind or helping the actors in a scene.

The particular set of people are called “extras” and are put in a movie so that the background of a particular scene does not look dull to the moviegoers. Sadly, they do not get the recognition that they deserve and all the applause go toward the leading actors or the supporting cast. But it seems, things are changing for them now.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, an organization called Stanley PMI has launched an award show named The Stanleys for all the background actors who make the movie look lively on the screen. The award show will honor the extras for their hard work and precision. As of late, there are only two categories that have been announced, the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Rising Star Award.

The recipient of the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award is Tommy Bechtold, who has been making appearances in various movies and TV shows since 2008. Speaking in an interview with the publication, Bechtold revealed that he did open the email that was sent to him by the organization because it had “congratulations” written over it and believed that it was just an advertisement.

But soon he realized that email was real and he has been awarded with the recognition. The actor noted that it is exciting to have something like this in Hollywood and it is pretty important for everyone to remember that the work done by the extras in the background also “matters.”

“As tongue-in-cheek as it might be, I think it's a cool thing to raise awareness. If you're out here and if the thing you're contributing right now to the entertainment industry is showing up to be a background actor or an extra, I just hope that people remember that that's important and that matters,” Bechtold said.

Apart from the recognition, he also won $5,000, a full-page ad in The Hollywood Reporter, a donation worth $10,000 to The Actors Fund, and a Stanley mug-shaped statuette made of gold.

Bechtold has appeared in more than 15 movies, 50 commercials, and 30 TV shows in his professional career. He has been a part of movies like “The Laundromat” and “Sophomore.” The actor has also been seen in hit TV series like “How I Met Your Mother,” “House M.D.,” “Glee,” and “The Middle.”