March has been a lucky month for Sun Hao. The 19-year-old extra has landed 10 roles in TV series and movies and so has no pressing worries about food or rent in the capital. This early rush is a sure indicator he will crack the big time any time soon, Sun says. The busy season for filming normally descends in summer and lasts through autumn. The youngest son of a lumber trader from Baishan, a prefecture-level city in Jilin Province, Sun came to Beijing in August last year to work as a full-time extra queuing up outside Beijing Film Studio. After playing tidbit roles in TV series adapted from Chinese classics such as Journey to the West and Outlaws of the Marsh, he is now adept with the lens as demonstrated when the reporter points a video camera and he immediately improvises an impromptu acting performance. «I’ve been world of warcraft gold, on stage since I was 9,» Sun says, referring to a period where he acted in er’renzhuan opera, a song-and-dance duet popular in northeastern world of warcraft gold provinces. «I think I’m more talented than Wang Baoqiang. It’s just a matter of time before I become famous.» Wang is a Chinese actor whose role in the critically acclaimed 2003 award-winning Li Yang movie Blind Shaft won him three prizes in Asian film festivals. Wang burst onto the big screen with a big role only after years of waiting as an extra outside the Beijing Film Studio. Sun lives in a two-floor «dormitory» constructed from plastic boards about 800 meters from the Beijing Film Studio. Four bunk beds are crammed into each of the eight-square-meter rooms. The aroma of old socks and shoes fills the foetid, dusty interior. According to Sun, his roommates and neighbors are all marvelous would-be playwrights, composers, guitarists, actors and — curiously — his own «paid» fans. Like many a Z star, Sun actually hires associates to act as phony acolytes and crowd about him creating an atmosphere as if he were famous. The latest chat circulating among extras is all about Wang’s alleged «next-door neighbor» Ren Yueli, better known on the Internet as «Xidan Girl». Ren busked at an underpass in the downtown shopping area of Beijing until her voice was recently «discovered» by mainstream Chinese television channels. «I really enjoy world of warcraft gold living with these guys,» Sun says. «I could organize a whole play from the people in this building. «But even if we collected every penny we have here, we couldn’t afford one second of filming.» The sparkle in Sun’s eyes world of warcraft gold dims at the mention of money: As an extra, he makes 20-30 yuan ($3-4) a day and a large chunk of that pays for his shanty accommodation of 180 yuan a month. Many of his roommates distribute leaflets to subsidize their daily expenses. For Sun, there are slightly better options: For instance, he could borrow money from his well-off parents or play the clown at a foreigner’s children’s party. Sun refuses to do either. «I felt humiliated playing clowns,» he mutters. «I haven’t fallen so low as that. Everything’s getting better.» Twenty-two-year-old Xie Pengfei is a lady-killer. He has a heart-shaped face, somber and sad eyes and a nose that curves out at the top. At 1.8-meters tall, he looks athletic like a professional runner. He sports a haircut and earring that makes him look like Edison Chen from the Hong Kong box office smash Internal Affairs. Xie came to Beijing in January last year and lined up like other extras at the Beijing Film Studio for eight months. Then he dropped all that to become a casting agent. Although Sun Hao sniffs at Xie in private for wasting his shot at stardom on a menial career, Xie says he has no regrets. «Look at those guys,» he says in a compassionate tone, pointing to hundreds of extras milling around the gates. «It’s once in a blue world of warcraft power leveling, moon that any one of them will become the next Wang Baoqiang. «Passion alone doesn’t lead world of warcraft power leveling to anything in the real world. It takes endless torture, hard work and the risk of getting nothing for years,» he says. «I just wanted to face up to reality.» «There is a fixed industrial chain for extras from low-level agents to high-level agents and assistant directors,» Xie says. The top bosses have deep roots in the movie networks and can more or less determine the fate of the most talented extras. It’s a harsh fact of life that for countless nameless actors and actresses, the road to fame begins in the bedroom. For a small agent like Xie, with limited resources, life is still full of uncertainty. «I can’t afford food sometimes,» the start-up agent says. «But that won’t stop me because it’s my job and I am going to go for it.» There is a certain steel in his timbre. For an industry that spends a large amount on construction of extravagant sets for mass wars and parades, the extras remain indispensable. «If they all left, the machine would break down,» Xie says. «They are necessary but insignificant.» The once-insignificant Meng Jiyang couldn’t take it any more. For four long months, Meng waited in the China Movie & TV Industry Zone in suburban Huairou district. When True Legend (or Beggar Su) was shot in October 30 2008, the 1.41-meter man dashed out of the extras’ crowd, stone in hand and hit the camera lens with venom. The 420,182–yuan lens smashed into pieces on the spot, according to the Beijing Morning Post. «I want to talk to the director,» he reportedly shouted, like a short Chinese Christian Bale. On hearing Meng’s voice Yuan Heping, the action director for the Matrix, rushed over and asked him «What do you want?» «To talk with you alone,» the 22-year-old native of Qiannan autonomous prefecture in Guizhou Province reportedly replied. Without a single extra word from the world-renowned director, Meng was led away by the police. He had always dreamed of making a fortune, Meng, in custody, told the Beijing Morning Post. After watching Stephen Chow films in 2005, he made up his mind that his goldmine lay in the movie industry. He had come to the Movie & TV Industry Zone in June 2008 to work as an extra. He paid at least 420 yuan for food and accommodation. To make ends meet, he waited for chances to act on weekdays. At weekends, he worked as a waiter at a local restaurant. Meng became desperate. When he heard Yuan was shooting in early October, he lingered around set, hoping to snatch a chance to make his voice heard. «I’m penniless,» Meng said after being arrested. «The only way I can compensate for the lens is to sign a contract and work for Yuan. «That’s exactly what I intend to do. » Meng was instead sentenced to four years’ imprisonment on February 25 by the People’s Court of Huairou District in Beijing for intentional destruction of property. After the sentence, he produced a long piece of toilet paper and asked the court for some ink. He had two toilet paper banners hanging on him as Meng was led out of court to a waiting media, «This is top-ranking director General Meng (his adopted stage name)» on one side and «I love Stephen Chow» on the other. Now in prison, Meng told the Beijing Morning Post he had a rare chance to experience a hard life and accumulate inspiration. «I will take exams to obtain formal training with the Beijing Film Academy after getting out of here and become a real director,» he said. It’s easy to spot Liang Shou’ai, better known as «Wild Wolf», a grizzled-looking old hand hanging out in a worn-out jacket. The 51-year-old from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region sports grayish whiskers that have enabled him to land eight years of roles from a weather-beaten nomad to a softhearted grandpa. «This is the same outfit I’ve been wearing for four years,» Liang says. «Directors can instantly spot me standing here.» Unlike younger extras that loll about chitchatting or playing, Wild Wolf skulks in a corner, making a conscious effort to stand out from the pack. Newcomers often approach him for advice. «The job of a good extra requires abundant experiences, special training, as well as endurance against adversity,» he tells a twenty–something who had just arrived in the big city by train with luggage on his back. «Without world of warcraft power leveling constant study, you could never aspire for a higher level in this circle. «The reason for my success world of warcraft power leveling is that I always paid for the textbooks they use at Beijing Film Academy.» After overhearing this advice, Sun Hao couldn’t resist butting into the conversation and saying with a wicked smile, «Hey Wild Wolf! You say you’re so successful. Then how come you still aren’t famous after eight years?» Wild Wolf turns to face his accuser with all the dignity he can muster. «Mind your own business!» wow power leveling, he shouts with the kind of glint in his eye normally reserved for an anti-Japanese movie. «You know nothing about acting!» Wild Wolf’s impressive confidence wow power leveling is built on supporting roles in more than 300 movies including Phoenix, Chi Bi and All About Women and Wushu. After eight years of landing constant movie roles, Wild Wolf’s greatest source of pride is that he actually still has a wife. «She thought I was destroying our life at the outset,» he says. «But after she saw my acting in movies, she decided to support my career.» His wife, who asked not to be named, has lived with Wild Wolf in Shahe, a county-level city in Hebei Province. A migrant worker, she has maybe been the main breadwinner of the couple during these long years of obscurity. Invader repelled and not knowing from where his next day’s work will come, Wild Wolf leans back and rests happy against the wall of Beijing Film Studio.