Background Actors Confess What Conversations They're Actually Having Off To The Side
Background Actors Confess What Conversations They're Actually Having Off To The Side
[rebelmouse-image 18346317 is_animated_gif=Background actors are needed for plays, for film, for commercials - if you want it to look convincing, you need people in the background. Production teams normally can't just shoot with strangers in the background, tons of people don't want to be filmed while they're just trying to get some pizza or something. So what to do? Cue the background actors! But with no real direction, and (let's be honest) nothing really important to offer to the storyline, what exactly do background actors talk about all day long?
One Reddit user asked:
The answers were everything we hoped for and more, lol. Brace yourself for a lot of talking about food, because apparently that's like 90% of being an actor.
The Produce Section
[rebelmouse-image 18346318 is_animated_gif=Typically something like:
"Peas and carrots, peas and carrots. Peas and carrots?"
"Oh! Banana banana banana!"
"Peas and carrots. Peas and peas and carrots."
Gossip
[rebelmouse-image 18346319 is_animated_gif=Former theater kid here. I generally stuck to small talk and used exaggerated facial expressions/gestures to make it look interesting. When I'd be talking with a friend of mine, we either complained about something that had gone wrong in the show or exchanged a little gossip, lol. Theater was fun.
Sound Editor Says:
[rebelmouse-image 18346320 is_animated_gif=Friendly neighborhood Sound editor and mixer here!
Their words are almost entirely mouthed. The goal on set is to get the cleanest dialogue AND ONLY the main characters' dialogue. Almost all other sound is made in post. Door creaks, footsteps, clothing noise. This includes background voices. They come from what are called loop groups. And their conversations are normally nonsense so that nothing can be picked out and listened to. There jobs are to sound like mumble without mumbling!
16 Hours Of Silence
[rebelmouse-image 18346322 is_animated_gif=I'm training for Stunts, so I do a lot of background/extra work in-between. I'm in Chicago, so I work on things like Chicago Fire, Chicago med, Chicago Pd, empire, the exorcist, etc. Every time I've been on set, I've had to be dead quiet. The mics are so sensitive that even flipping a page to a magazine on the other side of the room will get picked up. Throw in 20 more conversations on top of that and you've got a hot steaming pile of useless junk. It's pretty awkward having to fake a conversation, especially since you normally don't even know the name of the person you're talking to. Having to repeat the same pretend fake conversation and actions for 10 takes, rehearsals, etc, kind of sucks but at least you never have to worry about getting the line wrong. Repeat for 12-16 hours. Sometimes you will literally sit in holding for HOURS at a time where you have to be silent, too.
TLDR: nothing, sets are crazy quiet 90% of the time
Netflix and Tacos
[rebelmouse-image 18346323 is_animated_gif=I was in a recent Netflix film as a background actor, and was paired with another girl for the scene. We had to act excited, so we started this long conversation about how great Taco Bell was. It was hilarious!
F The Proletariat!
[rebelmouse-image 18346324 is_animated_gif=This might just be me but I usually make up gossip that would fit in the context of the show. For example, I was a party guest in late 19th century Russia, and I would walk up to someone and quietly say something along the lines of "Man, f the proletariat, am I right? No way that'll ever come back to bite us!"
It's All About Chemistry
[rebelmouse-image 18346325 is_animated_gif=Depends on your chemistry with the person you're talking to. But it is always very quiet - almost inaudible. It can be talking about where you're gonna walk to next - sometimes you need to do this if your background character has to do a lot of movement without crashing into people or the set.
A lot of times it's nice to do some joking back and forth, trying to get the other person to "break" - just to keep it interesting. Example: One show, I had to have a really close-talking, kinda angry conversation with a girl in the background, and we ended up going back and forth saying the most outlandish stuff we could think of while making really serious concerned faces.
Oooh We Have To Bleep ALL Of This lol.
[rebelmouse-image 18346326 is_animated_gif=I was on Game of Thrones set dressing (props) and when Jamie Lannister was getting pulled down the hill at Rob Stark's camp all the extras were just shouting:
_"C_nt f_cking bastard f_cking dckhead"
and so on lol. When the director said cut everybody was laughing even Jamie Lannister
Larry v. Barry
[rebelmouse-image 18346328 is_animated_gif=I work as an extra to learn about the industry (I aspire to be and actor and director) and I always try to have fun with these background conversations and really try to flesh out a ridiculous subplot between myself and the other background artists I work with. For example, when doing a TV show last year, we did a couple of days where we filled out the same market setting for different scenes throughout the series. They often hired the same actors and had us wear the same costumes, so the people I was grouped with and I decided to create an arc in which one of extras was called 'Larry', but throughout the series he was replaced by his weird evil twin 'Barry'. You can watch the show and notice our reactions to the Barry/Larry character change as the 'plot' unfolds.
Always give it 100% as an actor, folks.
Time To Learn French
[rebelmouse-image 18346329 is_animated_gif=When I was in a production of Les Miserables, the director instructed that all background conversation and ad-lib had to be in French. It was a really cool addition, in my opinion, once everyone learned to pronounce things properly.
Celebrity Death
[rebelmouse-image 18346330 is_animated_gif=Playing Wilbur in Hairspray on a cruise ship. Every show I had about a 45 second "conversation" with Little Inez. One day she says "Ohmigod! Did you hear about Phillip Seymour Hoffman?" That's how I found out he died. On with the show.
Dirty Talk And Strippers
[rebelmouse-image 18346331 is_animated_gif=Usually, you cannot talk... but have to mouth words.
One set I was on we turned it into a game. Mouth a sentence and when the director yells cut try and guess what the other person said. If I was in a scene with a person I knew well... it was usually PRETTY dirty...
EDIT: The most hilarious experience was on the set of a future TV show filmed in Chicago. It was a strip club scene, and the director wanted authenticity so he hired real strippers. They had to be told "tone it down" multiple times...
Sleepy Python
[rebelmouse-image 18346332 is_animated_gif=Tech here, one of my favorite examples from a stage show I did. Two actors had to have a background conversation upstage on set, while another scene took place. They were both huge Monty Python fans and would sit there reciting the entire dialog to various MP films. Some of the crew could hear them in the wings and had to work at not laughing, or blowing their cues. But the real problem was a young actress that was supposed to be sleeping next to them... she wasn't familiar with MP and broke several times.
Just Screaming
[rebelmouse-image 18346333 is_animated_gif=So my experience was a little different than most the other ones mentioned here. I was an extra at a cattle auction and was required to yell for some of the takes. They kept telling us to get louder so by take 3 or 4 we were pretty much screaming. It was quite odd, especially since most of the time extras have to be silent.
People In Love Need To Poop, Too.
[rebelmouse-image 18346334 is_animated_gif=One time me and my girlfriend were extras for a film and we were in a cafe scene pretending to be in love on a date. I really needed to poop and all I was saying to her under my breath was "I need the bathroom" while looking at her in the eyes and smiling.
It cracked me up when I saw the film and you could read my lips and what I was saying.
Networking Opportunity
[rebelmouse-image 18346335 is_animated_gif=Depends on who you're with:
Sometimes you get an older person, they over act with their face and actually pantomime (pretending to talk without actually talking). It's what we're all supposed to do but they're usually the only ones that do it.
Then there's the person with hearing problems. They try to whisper talk but end up being too loud and get everyone in trouble.
The person who doesn't have hearing problems but talks to loud anyway, everyone gets yelled at like above.
There's not really a limit or anything when it comes to the whisper conversations for backgrounders.
I usually talk about work, like "what have you been on? Have you worked with X before?" stuff like that. There's some networking as well, as some people who work as background are just getting their foot in the door for crew.
Every now and then you get a super annoying BG on set and you end up talking about them while the cameras roll, since you can watch them try and push their way in front of the camera.
I went on a couple dates with girls I've meet being randomly paired up with them. Made a lot of friends the same way as well.
Dancing To Silence
[rebelmouse-image 18346337 is_animated_gif=Did some background extra work. One scene was meant to be at a festival. For each take we would have to dance to silence.
Loop Group
[rebelmouse-image 18346339 is_animated_gif=The extras on set do not talk during filming.
"Crowd talking noises" are added in post production. That way they can use different takes without an audible cut or change in the background conversation.
There are two main ways this can be done. Typically, a "loop group" will come in, a troupe of five or six voice artists, who will ad-lib background conversation, read radio/TV reports, or otherwise make noise for people in the background of the shot. They can do a full movie in a day or two.
Other times, if there's only one scene where background noise is needed, after they finish shooting the whole scene and before they wrap the set, the main actors will leave and they will record 60 seconds of the extras talking, moving plates, using silverware, etc. There are SAG rules, however, about whether or not they have to be paid extra for doing this, though, so it only happens under certain conditions.
Flirting With Beggars
[rebelmouse-image 18346340 is_animated_gif=A unique perspective but for many years as a kid I was an extra in large ballet productions for a pretty prominent ballet company. Non dancing rolls I'd be "village woman" "market place lady" "beggar" "Ball attendee". Our job was to make the scene come alive so the village or ball or what have you seemed bustling and lively while all the dancing happened. We were meant to react to the environment and react to the action in that airy ballet type way.
Well large ballet productions like that are anything but silent. There are all manner of little jokes going on in the back and fooling around. Especially in the production where I was a beggar. I was 16 and there were 6 of us teens paired with 6 or so 20-something men from the Company. Our job was just to go around and create mischief, beg for money. We'd harass people in the background, create alternate story lines for ourselves and try not to get caught cracking or goofing off while also trying to flirt with the beggar boys. It's always the time of my life.
Butthole Zingers
[rebelmouse-image 18346341 is_animated_gif=I actually did background for a year or so when I first moved to LA. The conversations run a gamut. Much of the time you don't actually say anything; you're just mouthing words.
Other times you'll just say inane things like "watermelon" over and over. Rare, but it does happen.
But a lot of the time you're just talking to the other background. It doesn't matter what you're saying (as long as you keep your voices low and don't break character visually), so you're just chatting. Granted, most of these people are one-day friends from diverse, artistic backgrounds, so often your topics will get really weird, really fast.
The fact itself that you're on set leads to much of the conversational hilarity. For example, one time I was working on a big crime procedural show and we were doing a rain scene outside of a murder victim's house. So me and two other background actors are huddled off to one side of the set under these big rain machines suspended from cranes. Right before they would call action, rain on, then cut, rain off. All we have to do is stay under our umbrella and look gossipy, and we're golden.
But of course we're chatting, and to hear each other over the water we had to project a little, even standing two feet away from each other. And we're having a conversation about one of the lead actors on the show, a very famous, masculine action star, and making very racy puns about him. Because, you know, it was 3 in the morning and we're standing out in the fake rain and we were a little punch-drunk. And this is what you talk about with new actor friends.
They called cut on the latest take, and immediately the Assistant Director calls over his bullhorn: "Background, be quiet." We didn't think anything of it, they'd been saying that for a few takes no matter how low we tried to get our voices. But then he added: "The mics are pointing right at you."
We shut up immediately. If one of the parabolic mics was indeed pointed in our direction, then a lot of the crew could hear all the butthole zingers we'd been coming up with about their star. Whoopsie.
Supposed To Be Miming
[rebelmouse-image 18346342 is_animated_gif=I did a promo as a background actor for the mother of a girl I liked who was directing. I didn't know that I was supposed to be miming talking, not making any actual sounds. Every time she stopped and said how she could still hear me through the sensitive mics I would just talk lower but it wasn't working. I still feel bad about that.
A Never-Ending Stream Of Profanity
[rebelmouse-image 18346343 is_animated_gif=I'm a pianist for musical theater, not an actor, but... In the show "Breaking Up is Hard to Do", there's a scene where an actor is talking directly to the audience and then the scene "flips" to other characters talking "backstage". As the scene flips, the actor's mic fades out, he turns around to face directly at me, and continues to improvise a monologue for about a half minute or so. Every night, it got more and more ridiculous... One night, it was just a stream of never-ending profanity. Thankfully, he chose not to go with that on any actual performances; our sound crew isn't always on top of things and that would not have gone over well.
Opera Porn
[rebelmouse-image 18346344 is_animated_gif=I'm in opera and yea, we say some pretty messed up s*** to each other. The benefit over musical theatre is that we're never directly mic'ed so there isn't the worry of being overheard.
Professionals try to get each other to laugh all the time.
There's an opera, La Forza del Destino, where a character finds out at a climactic moment that his best friend has been sleeping with his sister. He finds this out by finding her portrait among the friend's personal effects. It's a common prank to remove the portrait and replace it with dirty magazines.
Talking About Squash With Amber Heard
[rebelmouse-image 18346345 is_animated_gif=I work as an "professional" extra, meaning I do it so much I almost make a living of it and have starred in a large number of Blockbusters and international productions. The funniest incident regarding weird background talk, was when I with two other guys, were made to talk with Amber Heard during the filming of The Danish Girl. If you've seen the movie, it's during the party scene, and we basically talked about how to say squash in different languages as well as our favorite cocktails. 10/10 would do again. She is super nice and down to earth, and absolutely one of the most approachable actors I've worked with :)
H/T: Reddit
- People Break Down The Most F**ked Up Movie Or TV Show They've Seen - George Takei ›
- People Divulge Their Go-To 'Small Talk' Topics With Strangers - George Takei ›
- People Explain Which Small Gestures Impacted Them The Most - George Takei ›
- People Explain Which TV Series They Can Watch On Repeat - George Takei ›
- People Confess What Instantly Makes Them Want To Turn Off A TV Show Or Movie - George Takei ›
- People Describe The Best Historical Examples Of 'F*** It, I'll Do It Myself' - George Takei ›
- Actors That Were Perfectly Cast In Their TV and Film Roles - George Takei ›
- The Most Polite Ways To End A Conversation With A Talkative Person - George Takei ›
If there was one good thing to come out of the pandemic, it was that it made us all the more appreciative of all that is good in our lives.
No one ever appreciated the importance of friends or family more, having to be kept apart from each other for months, or the little things which bring us joy, which we made sure to keep doing even as pandemic restrictions were lifted.
Of course, being alone with our thoughts for such a long time also resulted in our reflecting on things in our lives, or in the world in general, which we were less than happy about.
Not to mention the all-important realization that life is short and precious, and we don't have time to waste our thoughts on some things.
"What is something you no longer have patience for?"
Off The Clock Means OFF THE CLOCK!
"Working outside of work hours."
"I used to go above and beyond, now I only put in what is required."
"Life is too short to live only to work."- Chesterfieldcat
"The working world."
"My life doesn’t revolve around working here and it never will."
"It will never be a part of my identity."
"I come in, do the job, make money, go home."
"Don’t expect me to come to all the work happy hours so I can pretend how much I love working here."- nuclearsalt
Some Things Just Don't Get A Free Pass
"Sh*tty people getting a pass 'because they're family'."- cgulash
angry homer simpson GIFGiphySay What You Mean, Not What You Feel
"Having to guess what people REALLY mean by something they said."
"I take everything people say at face value now and don't replay conversations in my head to find out the real meaning anymore."
"Be passive-aggressive if you want to but talk to me like an adult if you really have a problem."- WateredDownSalt
EYES ON THE ROAD!
"People who text and drive."
"You're driving a giant piece of metal propelled by explosive liquid."
"Pay attention."- MasterfulNothasie
The Only Life That Should Concern You Is Your Own
"People and groups of people that only talk about other people."- Turf98
"People who can’t mind their fucking business and are always worried about what other people are doing."
"If it doesn’t effect you, f*ck off."
"It’s literally free."- wackwackwackjpg
GIF by WWEGiphySome People Didn't Mind Social Distancing
"People invading my personal space."- Mighty-Foreskin
Influence Can Be Dangerous
"Anything that has “influencer” in it."- chemistcarpenter
Indoor Voices People...
"Streamers screaming, losing their sh*t, breaking things, and having tantrums."
"I used to think this was so funny now I just can't stand it; I can't even watch a streamer if I notice they're not using their normal talking voice." - Reddit
Fail Oh No GIF by G2 EsportsGiphyTaking Responsibility Is A Sign Of Maturity
"People who constantly blame others for the situation they are in."- SuvenPan
Time Is Precious And Shouldn't Be Wasted
"Waiting on people who are constantly late to plans."
"I will wait 15 minutes then excuse myself."- Dabbles-In-Irony
There's Multi-Tasking, And Then There's Just Being Rude...
"People being on their phone while in a conversation with you."
"Seriously."
"Put your phone away!"- rosieblinkstime
Phone GIF by Poehlmann FitnessGiphyIt Takes So Much More Effort To Be Nasty...
"Bad manners, unkindness and general rudeness."
"It costs nothing to be a nice person and from someone who works in a customer-facing industry, attitudes, sadly, appear to be getting worse."
"It really makes me cross."- Bellamiles85
At Least They're Being Transparent
"Medicine commercials with worse side-effects than the thing being cured."- mrbbrj
Wasting our time and thoughts about things that we know can only bring us down is simply no way to get through life.
It's essential to live our lives by taking the present moment for what it is: a present.
Double standards are applied in society all the time, even though they should not be. A double standard is when multiple people, or groups of people, are treated differently even though they should be treated the same.
The most obvious and prevalent double standard is the difference in treatment between men and women. Women still get paid less than men for doing the same job, regardless of the equality in their duties, efforts, and achievements.
A double standard can also refer to the use of a different set of rules for multiple situations, despite the situations being the same. For example, if a friend expects you to always be honest with them, but lies to you in return, that is a double standard.
As mentioned before, double standards are applied in society all the time, and Redditors have noticed. They are only too eager to share the double standards they've noticed in their lives and communities.
It all started when Redditor FewCarry7472 asked:
"What is the worst double standard currently?"
Working Like A Dog
"Companies expecting you to be loyal to them while showing none in return. Loyalty is a two-way street. If I find a better job and give your the appropriate number of weeks’ notice, you can’t complain, especially since you can get rid of me for any reason."
– ChronoLegion2
"I’ve found that if you are extremely loyal to a company and show them you will be will be there no matter what, they will walk all over you. Workers who were firm and had boundaries got more things. I know of a woman who is amazing at her job, but they won’t promote her because they need a teacher. They know that they can promote over her, and she will always be there."
– HagridsSexyNippples
But It Only Happened Once!
"Work-wise, they're along the same lines. Either, the person who does pretty much nothing gets away with it constantly, but everyone else is watched like a hawk, or when the person who never calls in sick does just ONCE and it's a whole thing as if they're lying."
– Ryandhamilton18
"I'm a software engineering manager and a peer manager is out sick literally like 3 days a week. I need you to understand that I am not exaggerating. Average of 3 days per week. Sometimes one day, sometimes a couple days, sometimes the whole week. Average = 3."
"She makes a big harumph any time I'm out - once even throwing a fit about me taking a 4 day weekend (Friday and the following Monday PTO), which I had scheduled THREE MONTHS in advance."
"It takes every bit of self-control I have ever learned, not to scream "MAYBE I NEED A BREAK BECAUSE I SPEND MORE TIME COVERING FOR YOUR A** THAN I DO WORKING ON MY OWN JOB""
"She's been working on one project for 14 months and I'M the one who has to pull some bullsh*t out of my a** for the client every. F*cking. Day.
"This is the only real problem with my job. I love it otherwise, and I'm still about damn ready to quit."
– nocksers
Singled Out
"You can do 99 things right and will always be criticized for the one thing you did wrong."
"But someone who did 99 things wrong will always be praised for the one thing they did right."
– BM13-
"Wow, this just sparked a (very old) memory. In school I was such a good kid - never skipped class, always on time, respectful toward my teachers. One day during my Senior year I was late to a class by two seconds and I got detention! Meanwhile half the class would stroll in late, talk during class, etc. and they never got into trouble. I'm still salty about it 30+ years later."
– shmoobel
Daddy Daycare
"As a new parent, it really bothers me when only the ladies room has those baby changing stations."
"Dads need to change poopy diapers too!"
– MedSurgNurse
"Been there... On a gas station on the freeway, only the ladies room had a "poop station.""
"Saw a lady coming out and asked if there was anybody else in there, she said yes and went to warn the other ladies that I was coming in to change the dirty diaper."
"Took a while (it was one of those poop explosions), a group of older ladies comes in and gets really angry for seeing a guy in the ladies room, until they saw what I was doing."
"They immediately offered help if I couldn't change the diaper alone."
"Fun interaction, it was 10 years ago, nowadays there are much more men's room with "poop stations.""
– EGDragul
"My kids are almost a decade apart, and this statement couldn’t be truer."
"First kid was a nightmare being solo dad with him before potty training. He got changed more times in the hatch of my Subaru than anywhere else outside of the house. My daughter was easy peasy privacy."
– sparkmearse
Anyone Can Be A Villain
"I suffer from PTSD due to mental abuse from my ex-wife. I mentioned it, one time, and was told to “Man up. Women can’t abuse men.” So, now, no one knows."
– AllisonWesley
"It's such bullsh*t. My brother was horribly abused by his ex wife, but she never hit him. It was all psychological, emotional, and financial abuse. It's still abuse though, and it doesn't get talked about enough."
– kmill0202
No Way To Win
"If I show up 5 minutes late to work, I'm bad at my job and need "corrective" measures. I work 15 minutes past the end of day and I'm simply a good worker doing their job as expected."
– mailordermonster
Stay At Home
"Me at Home Depot with my daughter:
""aww daddy took the day off.""
""This is my job.""
"Target and local grocery they know I’m a stay-at-home and are actually really nice about it."
"Also, my daughter is best friends with a girl at gymnastics. Mother asked for a play date and I said, ""let me give you my wife’s number cause this is weird.""
"My friends make fun of me, but I just always say, "if any of your wives went to law school and were an executive where would you be?""
"And they say “at home with the kids.""
– Elegant_Housing_For
"Man this one drives me up the wall and I don't even have kids."
– CopperTucker
Anyone Can Be Bigoted
"People of color can’t be racist. They can be……"
– reverendblinddog
"Or that white people can't know racism. Coming from living in Tokyo for years, this cracks me up."
– Vealophile
Keep Calm And Keep Quiet
"Socially acceptable to tell introverts to talk more."
"Socially unacceptable to tell extroverts to shut up for once."
– Burnsy813
Cheating Is Cheating
"Women who think that fooling around with other girls isn’t cheating. If it isn’t then let’s both do it together."
– ydney976
"It’s partly because heretosexual couples aren’t taught to be threatened by it. Men especially don’t believe a woman is going to leave them for another woman. Well, maybe until recently."
– superbv1llain
Women vs. Men
"Women who don’t clean enough or aren’t organized: lazy; bad housekeepers"
"Men who don’t clean enough or aren’t organized: men"
"Single women over 30 without children: selfish, yikes, probably something wrong with her, spinster"
"Single men over 30 without children: probably focusing on his career, hasn’t found the right woman yet"
"Woman in a position of power: greedy b*tch"
"Man in a position of power: successful businessman"
"Woman doubled over in ER, clutching abdomen: "does it feel like cramps? When was your last cycle? How long has it been since you had a bowel movement? Any chance you could be pregnant? Did you eat something unusual?""
"Man doubled over in ER, clutching abdomen: "prepare the OR, this man clearly has a ruptured appendix; his life is in danger, we don’t have time for questions!""
– HyperboleEverAfter
Medical Inequality
"The most horrifying one to me is probably how men’s pain is taken seriously but women are hysterical, overreacting, attention-seeking, it’s all in the head, etc., and left to suffer. There are SO many studies showing that women are far less likely to get pain medication and anaesthetic, have higher rates of misdiagnosis, and have to wait longer for pain treatment. This sh*t has NO place in modern medicine."
– laTeeTza
"They did this 3 times before they actually started a scan. The following year my brother had stomach pains, they kept him for 3 days searching for the cause. Presumed to be the stomach bug…."
– ToastMasterBoi
"It is insane. When I had severe stomach problems (could barely eat, only a few bites of food and I was full, etc), I had multiple nurses tell me "oh it's just your period you don't need to see a doctor." Lo and behold, when I finally saw a doctor it turns out one of the nerves in my stomach was paralyzed and I was slowly starving!"
"And now that I've transitioned to a man, it's wild that doctors take me seriously the first time. I hate it here."
– CopperTucker
Sounds more like blatant sexism to me!
Being the boss can really suck.
I've done it a few times.
One of the worst things is terminating people.
It might sound glamorous and it can be a slight power trip.
But in the end it sucks.
Even when people deserve it, being the messenger is stressful.
Nobody wants to ruin another person's day or life.
Let's see who else agrees.
Redditor sirdigbykittencaesar wanted to hear from the bosses of the world about the terminations they wish they could take back, so they asked:
"Bosses of Reddit, have you ever seriously regretted firing someone, and if so why?"
It must suck when you're duped into firing the wrong person and then you find out too late.
That Day
Kids In The Hall Comedy GIF by CBCGiphy"A long time ago I was asked to fire a salesman. He was kind, but not good at selling. It was a week before Christmas. I told my boss I would fire him on Jan 3. The boss said no and fired him that day. I regretted not giving him the holiday."
Tootalllewis
The Picker
"I had an assistant for about a year, who was a pretty good assistant for a difficult working situation. My boss, the district manager, hated him, though. She kept trying to catch him screwing up when I wasn't around. The trouble was, the company paid poorly, so talent was hard to come by, training was difficult, and the hours were 48 a week MINIMUM. This guy was the only assistant I had who didn't quit in less than a year."
"My stores were so undermanned, if this guy left, I'd be working 80-hour weeks like before I got him. The only reason it wasn't more than 80 hours was because the store's malls or shopping centers actually closed at night."
"Finally, one day, she wrote him up because she said 'a secret shopper' said he was picking his nose. This guy, who at least had SOME dignity, refused to sign the disciplinary paperwork. 'I want proof: I am not sitting in the showroom, picking my nose.' My boss said, 'he won't sign it, insubordination.'"
"'Fire him.' I really tried to reason with her, but she wanted him gone one way or another. 'Either you fire him, or I'll come in and fire both of you.'"
"I had to fire a man for picking his nose. I quit shortly after that because I knew this was just the lowest I had ever sunk in management. I still feel bad about all that."
punkwalrus
This Guy
"Years ago I got a call from a competing engineering company. They screwed up a job and rather than own up, decided to blame a senior technologist as the scapegoat. His immediate boss was against it but the partners demanded it. He phoned us and said 'You should hire this guy.'"
"We did and he was an excellent employee until he retired 20 years later. Our gain, their loss."
"The best part is that the guy who called me (who was a senior engineer) quit shortly thereafter and the company closed down a couple of years later - Karma I guess."
somewhat_random
The Team Member
"Someone else hired someone with no experience after I voted 'no.' I knew he would be in over his head and he had a good job already. They didn't train him or coach him. And then after about 6 months my boss's boss comes to me and tells me to build a case against him... my team member... and to fire him."
"I quit within the next two months. F them... I'm not doing their dirty work to solve a problem they caused and enable them to keep their hands clean in the process."
AdUnfair3836
It's just a puff...
4-20 Weed GIFGiphy"I was once forced to fire an awesome employee for failing a drug test (weed). And just a few years later it was legalized."
PsiOryx
When will we just let people smoke freely?
Bad Vibes
Duck Reaction GIF by PLAYMOBILGiphy"I had to fire someone on my actual last day once. And right beforehand, everyone was making a joke about the person I fired getting fired. That sucked. Not a good vibes last day at all."
backyardvegas
Terror
"I had an employee about 4 years ago now who had chronic attendance issues. I kept her MUCH longer than my boss was happy with because she was decent and very genuine. But eventually, I just couldn't put it off anymore. When we were in the room talking she burst into tears and looked terrified and told me her husband was NOT going to be happy with her. She said he wouldn't hurt her and she didn't need me to call the police for her, but even still I'm worried he was physically abusive. The level of terror was up there."
AlisonChained
Merry Christmas
"About 20 years ago I was running a bar Christmas Eve - chaotic night as we were incredibly short-staffed due to heavy snow and a lot of our workers being from a different area. Bar downstairs was closing up and the staff was being moved to the upstairs. We were £200 short in the bar and the main manager interrogated three out of the four - conveniently not the supervisor he was having an affair with."
"That supervisor was also in charge of the float and was generally sh*t at her job. That float for one until was convenient £200."
"Main boss wouldn't consider his fling could do wrong (a common occurrence) and he didn't want to deal with it. So it became me (the lowest of four managers) to sack three people for suspected theft. On Christmas Eve knowing I wasn't in any position financially or in terms of job security to say no."
"Only joy was that his wife finally caught him in the affair and his whole life went to sh*t soon after."
geekhalla
Regrets
"I was forced to fire a junior person on my team, my boss gave me no choice, because she had used a competitor's idea as inspiration (working in design). But it was our intermediary boss who told her to use the idea. I wish I would have taken a harder stand but I was afraid of being fired myself, I was only a few months on the job. I still regret it to this day but the other woman has had a good career so that’s a plus at least."
Keyspam102
Awful
"Had an underperforming employee, tried a pip, coaching, moving to a different job role with the team. Eventually came to terms with not being the right person for the job/team terminated employee. A week later her child dies in a house fire where they lost everything. I donated 1000 to the go find me but still can’t help but wonder if my termination set off the events that caused this."
smallboxofcrayons
Phony
That Is All Meryl Streep GIFGiphy"Nope. There's a long process before it gets to that point and almost nobody does get to that point. Except for the guy who got the job using fake identity papers. There was no long process to fire him, it went very, very fast once we found out."
AdmiralBofa
I hated firing people.
There is never a great time.
While we've all seen familiar items in TV shows, or even obvious product placement, most TV shows and movies also include items that were specifically made for their story line.
Though they're meant to be fictitious, we can't lie and say that we haven't wished for some of these items to be real.
Redditor splendid_moisture asked:
"What is your favorite fictitious product from a TV show?"
Instant Toast
"As someone who doesn’t have a toaster and hates the wait time but loves toast, that instant toast-cutting knife from 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' sounds reallyyy good right about now."
- TechsSandwich
Quick-Fix Prescriptions
"'Colon Blow' from SNL (Saturday Night Live) with Phil Hartman."
- Ok_Report_6272
"Or Chris Farley’s 'Hibernol.'"
"While you sleep, living off stored body fat, the cold will run its course. In fact, many other colds and flus may come and go, but you won’t even know it, because you’re out cold!"
- Bosoxbooster
Vitameatavegamin
"Vitameatavegamin from 'I Love Lucy.'"
- Wonderful_Horror7215
"It's so tasty, too!"
- emmennwhy
"Just like candy... honest."
- spitel
"Do you pop out at parties? Are you unpoopular?"
- 1201_alarm
"Lucy, you got some 'splainin to do!"
- deadwood
Big Kahuna Burger
"The Big Kahuna Burger from 'Pulp Fiction'!?"
- naugasnake
"That's some serious gourmet s**t."
- r2mayo
"Now THAT is a tasty burger!"
- quackupreddit
Log Log Log
"'Log' from 'Ren and Stimpy.'"
- Canazabis
"What rolls down stairs, alone or in pairs, and over your neighbor's dog?"
- BetterThanHorus
"What's great for a snack and fits on your back?"
- WishBear19
"IT'S LOG, LOG, LOG."
- maggot_smegma
Bachelor Chow
"Bachelor Chow from 'Futurama.'"
- TheRogueToad
"When I was a bachelor, there was a time when I was like, 'I could go for that if it were a real thing...'"
- macjoven
"The way my husband ate before we got married? Yeah, I'm pretty sure he would have just bought Bachelor Chow by the case and eaten it from the can with a spoon every day. They were pretty on point with that one, lol (laughing out loud)."
- niceoldgranny
Krabby Patty
"The Krabby Patty of course."
- DarkCinnamon
"Ravioli, ravioli, give me the formuoli."
- grantgoldenboy
"It'd probably taste bad to humans. It's made for sea creatures and is meant to be eaten underwater."
- fluffynuckels
Products from "Back to the Future"
"Hoverboards from 'Back to the Future.'"
- VodkaMargarine
"I'd actually rather have the pizza hydrator."
- Hammerheadhunter
"Those auto-tighten shoes he wears in 'Back to the Future 2' blew my little mind back in the day. They're actually a thing now."
- TripleB_Darksyde
Veridian Dynamics, Period.
"Anything from Veridian Dynamics on 'Better Off Ted.'"
- Paxil_popper
"Even the weaponized pumpkins?"
"...I sure miss 'Better Off Ted.'"
- UnitedCitizen
"'Veridian Dynamics. We're the future of food, developing the next generation of food and food-like products. Tomatoes... the size of this baby, lemon-flavored fish, chicken that lay 16 eggs a day, which is a lot for a chicken, organic vegetables chock-full of antidepressants.'"
"'At Veridian Dynamics, we can even make radishes so spicy that people can't eat them, but we're not, because people can't eat them. Veridian Dynamics. Food. Yum.'"
- Hey_look_new
"The commercials were the best part. 'We treat our employees like family. That’s why we make them work weekends and all major holidays, because that’s when families should be together.'"
- edgestander
Also Anything by ACME
"The complete ACME line of products from 'Looney Tunes.'"
- sickelite
"Slingshot, dynamite, they've got it all!"
- Snoo-35252
An Egg Salad Sandwich
"The egg salad sandwich that Fry ate in 'Futurama' that made him smarter and muscular."
- wrexmason
"What's that black cracker? Tomato."
- Mdmrtgn
Fight Milk
"'Fight Milk' from 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.'"
- DrRonny
"I drink some every day so I can fight like a crow."
- Caiden0907
Resources from 'Star Trek'
"The replicator from Star Trek. Though not too sure if it categorizes as a product in a world without money."
- AdmiralClover
"The Holodeck!"
- sharrrper
"Yes, and the transporter... though it freaks me out."
- RhymesWithLasagna
"Even 'Star Trek' has a character who doesn't like them."
- AdmiralClover
"Totally! I get why. I've had so many conversations about it with my husband trying to understand the theory especially when the transporter pads are used vs site to site transports... And it seems to me a person is taken apart and then put back together elsewhere, and it's questionable if that's the same person really. But the convenience seems so wonderful!"
- RhymesWithLasagna
Cleaning Supplies
"Mr. Sparkle."
"It's disrespectful to dirt."
- okay_victory_yes
Getting By with a Little Help from Our Friends
"The milk spout thing that Joey was in a commercial for on 'Friends.'"
- InspectionNo9917
"ÜBERWEISS from 'Friends.' As a German, I can't stop laughing about it."
- Ser_Optimus
"Ross's sandwich from Season Five of 'Friends' that Monica saved for him. I know I could make something similar, but I want that one."
- Cho596
From food to cleaning supplies to techy gadgets, it seems most viewers have wanted something to be real from their favorite shows at some point.
Somehow, our shows would feel all the more real if we could connect through a shared object, in the way we've already shared experiences with our favorite characters.