ExtraOrdinary Casting
ExtraOrdinary Casting is a Chicago-based private extras casting agency founded in 2005 that supplies background, featured, and specialized talent for film, television, commercials, print, and music video productions across Illinois and surrounding Midwest states.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What ExtraOrdinary Casting does
ExtraOrdinary Casting is a privately held extras casting agency headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 2005 by Darlene Hunt and Rachel Komar. The firm provides background talent — extras, featured extras, photo doubles, stand-ins, and musicians — for television series, films, commercials, music and promotional videos, and print campaigns. It also runs a specialized 'Real People' casting vertical that supplies authentic, non-professional talent to brands and advertisers. The company has cast more than 250,000 roles cumulatively across its history and serves production companies throughout Illinois and the surrounding Midwest states of Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
The agency's core operational asset is a proprietary, manually maintained talent database cataloguing extras by physical appearance, personality, expressiveness, attitude, specialties, past performances, and availability. Talent acquisition runs through a dedicated registration email, a phone information hotline (312.656.4211), and active presence on Twitter and Facebook, while customer acquisition is direct B2B sales to production coordinators and casting directors. Noteworthy co-cast and casting credits include television series Prison Break, ER (Chicago scenes, seasons 13–15), Shameless (pilot and episodes 1–6), and America's Got Talent; films such as Public Enemies, The Time Traveler's Wife, Baby On Board, and Dhoom 3; commercial work for Nike, McDonald's, Verizon (Star Wars campaign), American Family Insurance, Netflix, and Walmart; and music video casting for Jennifer Hudson ('Where You At') and Snoop Dogg ('That's That').
The business model is project-based service revenue from production companies, which directly hire and pay the talent; ExtraOrdinary Casting receives fees for casting services and does not itself employ the extras. Pricing is not publicly disclosed beyond stated 'competitive rates' and the disclosure that talent is generally guaranteed at least minimum wage. The firm is founder-owned with no disclosed institutional investment, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no app, API, or disclosed technology platform beyond the internal talent database. As of the available data, the company operates with a 15-person team and maintains an active website, IMDB company page, and social channels, indicating ongoing operations.
ExtraOrdinary Casting firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ExtraOrdinary Casting
- Legal name
- ExtraOrdinary Casting
- Website
- https://extraordinarycasting.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- ExtraOrdinary Casting is a Chicago-based private extras casting agency founded in 2005 that supplies background, featured, and specialized talent for film, television, commercials, print, and music video productions across Illinois and surrounding Midwest states.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ExtraOrdinary Casting industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Talent Casting Services
- NAICS
- Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (71141), Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (711410), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Casting & Talent Services (Casting, Background, Talent Holding) (MPADAFAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Talent Agency & Representation Services (HSACAHAK)
Keywords
Where ExtraOrdinary Casting is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
ExtraOrdinary Casting business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
ExtraOrdinary Casting product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ExtraOrdinary Casting is a Chicago-based extras casting agency that sources and books background talent — extras, featured extras, stand-ins, photo doubles, and musicians — for film, television, commercials, print, music videos, and promotional productions. The firm leverages a personal, searchable talent database spanning Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin, and specializes in "real people" casting for brands seeking authentic, non-professional on-camera performers.
Product overview
ExtraOrdinary Casting offers a unified talent casting platform with multiple service offerings. The core product is comprehensive talent casting services for film, television, commercials, print, and music videos. Supporting services include specialized "real people" casting for authentic brand representation and an internal talent database management system that enables talent matching based on physical appearance, personality, expressiveness, attitude, specialties, past performances, and availability.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Talent Casting Services Comprehensive casting services for film, television, commercials, print, and music videos, including extras, featured extras, stand-ins, photo doubles, and principal roles. Aimed at production companies that need reliable, large-volume background talent on demand.
- Real People Casting Specialized casting service for companies, brands, and commercial needs seeking authentic, non-professional talent for advertising and on-camera campaigns.
- Talent Database Management Personal database system for managing talent information including physical appearance, personality, expressiveness, attitude, specialties, past performances, and availability — used to match talent to production-specific criteria.
Companies that use ExtraOrdinary Casting
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
ExtraOrdinary Casting technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
ExtraOrdinary Casting partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
ExtraOrdinary Casting competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Now Casting: Online casting platform that aggregates casting calls for extras and background talent across the US; competes indirectly with ExtraOrdinary's organic social/hotline-based talent acquisition by streamlining producer-talent matching digitally.
- Casting Frontier: Online casting submission platform used for extras and background casting by major productions; competes with ExtraOrdinary by offering producers self-serve digital tools and a broader talent pool.
- Casting Networks / Breakdown Services: Digital casting platforms providing searchable online databases for extras, actors, and background talent used widely by casting directors and production companies; competes with ExtraOrdinary's curated approach via self-serve technology and broader national reach.
Others
- Backstage (casting platform): Long-running casting marketplace and media brand connecting talent with auditions, including extras and background roles; thematically adjacent to ExtraOrdinary's business in that both facilitate talent-to-production matching, but Backstage operates as a national platform rather than a regional casting agency.
Regional players
- Marz Casting: Atlanta-based extras casting agency serving the rapidly growing Georgia production market for film and television; similar service model and customer base to ExtraOrdinary, but operating in the dominant US Southeast production hub.
- SF Casting: San Francisco Bay Area extras casting agency providing background talent for film, TV, commercials, and music videos in Northern California — directly comparable offerings and customer types to ExtraOrdinary, but operating in a different regional market.
- Henley Casting: Atlanta-area background and extras casting agency serving film, TV, and commercial productions across the Southeast; offers an analogous full-service extras casting proposition to ExtraOrdinary but in a different geographic market.
- Tina Kerr Casting: Boutique casting agency providing background and extras casting services primarily in the New York/Tri-State area, comparable in service scope and customer base to ExtraOrdinary at a smaller regional scale.
Direct peers
- Central Casting: Industry-leading extras casting agency headquartered in Los Angeles with additional offices, providing background, stand-in, and photo double casting for film, television, and commercial productions — the closest direct analog to ExtraOrdinary Casting, just at national scale.
- Grant Wilfley Casting: Long-established New York-based extras and background casting agency serving film, TV, and commercial productions; comparable service offering and customer base to ExtraOrdinary, operating in a different regional production hub.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ExtraOrdinary Casting social profiles
Digital presenceExtraOrdinary Casting financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ExtraOrdinary Casting leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
ExtraOrdinary Casting funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ExtraOrdinary Casting M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ExtraOrdinary Casting
What does ExtraOrdinary Casting do?
ExtraOrdinary Casting is a Chicago-based extras casting agency that sources and books background talent — extras, featured extras, stand-ins, photo doubles, and musicians — for film, television, commercials, print, music videos, and promotional productions. The firm leverages a personal, searchable talent database spanning Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin, and specializes in "real people" casting for brands seeking authentic, non-professional on-camera performers.
Is ExtraOrdinary Casting a public or private company?
ExtraOrdinary Casting is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was ExtraOrdinary Casting founded?
ExtraOrdinary Casting was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ExtraOrdinary Casting based?
ExtraOrdinary Casting is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
Who are ExtraOrdinary Casting's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Now Casting, Casting Frontier and Casting Networks / Breakdown Services. Backstage (casting platform) is listed as an others. Regional players are Marz Casting, SF Casting, Henley Casting and Tina Kerr Casting. Direct peers are Central Casting and Grant Wilfley Casting.
Does ExtraOrdinary Casting have an API?
No public API is recorded for ExtraOrdinary Casting.
What industry is ExtraOrdinary Casting in?
ExtraOrdinary Casting's product category is Talent Casting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADAFAI, Casting & Talent Services (Casting, Background, Talent Holding), with a secondary code of HSACAHAK, Talent Agency & Representation Services. Its NAICS code is 71141 and its SIC code is 7361.