The Secret Lives of ‘Star Wars’ Extras

Before Star Wars became the franchise that branded an entire generation of geeks and brought a sea of eyes on science fiction films in Hollywood, the people who played extras in the film thought it was just another gig.

John Spira's Elstree 1976, a documentary about the making of the original Star Wars, brings in the voices of 10 people who played as extras when the film was being shot in a suburb north of London. Even in small roles, the film would still affect them 40 years later, as their faces became familiar to devoted fans worldwide. One of the extras notes that Star Wars is still his main source of income.

But what's notable isn't the candor surrounding Star Wars' unprecedented success—it's the bizarreness of how just a tiny role shaped the rest of their lives. They made friends, they've had identity struggles when fans even noted them as "the ex-X-Wing pilot." A film this big doesn't just affect marquee actors. It affects everyone.