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Everything was well organised, from arriving to getting into costume and makeup and transportation to the film set. We knew what was required from us, and we had a lovely time despite Swansea's hot we... See more
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I was sceptical of UVE after reading the reviews but having just completed my first job I have completely changed my view. UVE kept me updated throughout the process and the app was intuitive to use a... See more
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I had a great experience working on Amandaland S2. The team were welcoming, organised, and made the whole process enjoyable. I’m grateful to have been part of the production. And would happily work wi... See more
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Company details
Written by the company
Uni-versal Extras is a professional casting agency based at Pinewood Studios that specialises in supplying high-quality background Artistes for TV, Film and Commercial productions.
Contact info
United Kingdom
- www.universalextras.co.uk
4.4
Excellent
207 reviews
No recent history of asking for reviews
This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative
Replied to 100% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 24 hours
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Uni-versal Extras makes the difference
Uni-versal Extras. Not only does the team find you work, but also makes sure everything goes smoothly before, during and after filming.
17 March 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Thanks so much for your review! The UVE Team
Universal extras o the set of Animol
Landed my first job through universal extras on the film Animol directed by Ashley Walter’s playing the part of a female prison officer I was on set for 4 days.This was an amazing experience and made even more special by the crew etc.. I met some lovely people on set and can’t wait to land my next role
Sonia Rose
5 February 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Thanks so much for your review! The UVE Team
1st job a movie- brilliant experience
I was put forward for a job on a motion picture for my first role. It was so exciting. The company work late into the night to ensure supporting artists are booked and given all the info they need. Everyone was pleasant and helpful that I spoke to. Can’t comment on payments as it is too soon. I have since recommended the company to others. Brilliant working for Uni Extras.
5 February 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Thanks so much for your review! The UVE Team
Wowwww
Wow, Universal Extras Agency is UNIQUE and I've being with them since 2005 started with unique SOAP
Holly Oaks as a Japanese Tourist on the London Decker bus with Actresses Mikyla & Tracey.
Very good in response and feedback/ pay. Thank you.
18 November 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Thanks so much for your review! The UVE Team
Spent a day in mid December on an ad…
Spent a day in mid December on an ad project called Solitaire Cash. The day went well enough, but for several weeks I got no information on earnings or payment date. A week or so ago a payment landed in my account, but was only half the amount quoted me. There has been no communication to explain, and when I log in to my UVE account, there is NO earnings information provided for this, or any of my previous jobs. Such a contrast with Casting Collective, which provides an itemised statement of earnings within hours of wrap.
16 December 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Thanks for your review. We are sorry to hear that you were not completely satisfied with our service.
Uni-versal Extras does offers a chitless system for all our clients, but it is normally only used for film and TV productions. If used, you would have received a confirmation at check-in for each day of your assignment, and an itemised breakdown at check-out.
However this system was not used by your production, because the job you worked was for a social media job.
Whenever a payment is made to you, you will have received a remittence slip, available in the 'Documents' area of your profile, which includes an itemised breakdown of your payment.
Please also note that if you chose to skip and "Pay later" when registering, a Listing Fee would automatically be deducted from your first payment. Given we do not have your name or information, I am unable to check if this is the case, but it would be listed on your remittence slip if so. More details about our fees can be found here: https://universalextras.co.uk/extras/money-payment/
If you have any more questions, please use the Contact Form on our website and we will be happy to provide more information and support.
The UVE Team
The Team at UVE work hard to make…
The Team at UVE work hard to make things happen!. They have been professional, helpful and extremely accommodating. Many thanks for your hard work!
30 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Thanks so much for your review! The UVE Team
They send you a message to say if you…
They send you a message to say if you will be available for the shoot and then hours later they will tell you that you have not been chosen?? Happens many times!
31 December 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi Kash; thank you for your feedback.
We do understand that a common pain point amongst our Artistes is being checked for jobs but then not being selected. If you are shortlisted and responding to our availability messages, that is because we feel you are suitable and want to put you forward.
We do our best to protect our Artistes from disappointment by explaining that a ‘pencil’ is a temporary hold and, sadly, we can never guarantee you will be booked. That is because the production always make the decision as to who they want to book.
As of March 1st, we introduced a new listing fee pledge whereby Artistes can expect a minimum of 10 days of paid work per year or receive the following year’s listing for absolutely nothing. We do hope that this, in some way, helps you approach further work with us with more confidence.
We’re always receptive to feedback, so thank you for providing us with opportunities to improve the UVE service.
We hope to work together again in future.
- The UVE Team
Not a good business in my opinion
Not a good business in my opinion. My experience wasn’t good- I really fancied doing a bit of extras work. Ok I had a permanent job so it was difficult to allocate time for extras roles, but when I did answer positively all of the criteria- instantly they sent me an email saying I didn’t meet the criteria for the role. I would not renew this next year. I did ring the support team and the lady who answered saw my responses, and didn’t also
Know why I’d been rejected.
21 November 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi Antony,
Thanks for your feedback. We are sorry to hear you were dissatisfied with our service.
In relation to our casting process, if the system didn't consider you to be a match for a role based on your survey response, there could be a number of reasons for this. For example it could be you were not available for one of more of the mandatory dates, or perhaps there was a specific criteria we were looking for and you answered opposite. You may have also responded after the role became closed, depending on how long it took you to complete the survey.
I have tried to review your case, but was unable to find any registered members under the name you left this review under. However, if you spoke to our support, we would have expected them to explain further if you were confused, so this is definitely something we would like to look at in future to ensure we meet the high level of customer service expected at Uni-versal Extras.
If you would like to provide more detail about our experience, or if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to email us enquiry@universalextras.co.uk or call 0345 0090 344.
The UVE Team
My first ever on set experience was…
My first ever on set experience was wonderful with the production company. Well looked after from start to finish. Nothing was too much. They even helped accommodate one SA, who would have had a 7 hour journey home. Various food options considered and friendly and helpful crew. They even drove me to the train station. I missed my train, it had arrived and left 10 minutes before it was due, but what they did to get me there, was above and beyond and I couldn’t thank them enough. UVE were also on the end of the phone with any questions I had. I can’t wait to work with this production again.
30 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi C W,
Thanks for your glowing feedback! We are so happy you had a good time working on set and we look forward to working with you again soon.
The UVE Team
But weird that
Just had to come out of scheduled work for a fitting that was organised by universal extras and after sorting out work dates and times to fit in with the film shoot with Elveden I had a message saying that I didn’t get the role. Why would someone ask me what time I could be in Manchester for TOMOROW if your gonna say no to me 😂😂🤯 very unprofessional I’d say
28 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for your feedback, we are sorry to hear you are dissatisfied with our service.
It sounds like there could be some misunderstanding here about our standard booking process. Generally, a production client, for example a film or TV show, will contact us with a specific casting brief. Our Casting Team will then cast and contact people who they feel meet the requirements, after which you are sent to the production for consideration if you have confirmed your availability.
It sounds like that is what happened in your case. We would have told you when you could expect to get "results" from the production, which would have been quick given the booking was for the following day.
Unfortunately, they did not choose to book you on this occasion, which is why we were notified you that you were unsuccessful. If you had been chosen you would have instead received a booking confirmation message.
We appreciate how frustrating this can be, which is why we introduced the Listing Fee pledge, where if you pay a listing fee after the 1st of March 2024 and do not secure a minimum of 10 days of work from us in a year, the next year will be completely free. The full details can be found here: https://universalextras.co.uk/extras/extras-blog/the-28-day-payment-promise-everything-you-need-to-know/
We sincerely hope to work with you soon.
The UVE Team
Disappointed
I’ve had lots of pencilled in dates for a number of productions but have not received any work from them, thankfully I’ve had lots of work with other agencies 🙏. Not impressed with UVE, is anyone getting work with them 🤷♀️
17 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi Helen,
Thanks for your review, we are sorry to hear of your disappointment.
As an agency, we do our best to secure as much work for our members as possible. We understand how disheartening it can be, but if you are being pencilled that means we are putting you forward to productions for consideration. Our production clients always have the decision on who they would like to book or not, which we know can be frustrating.
In an attempt to support our artistes, we introduced the Listing Fee pledge, where if you pay a listing fee after the 1st of March 2024 and do not secure a minimum of 10 days of work from us in a year, the next year will be completely free. The full details can be found here: https://universalextras.co.uk/extras/extras-blog/the-28-day-payment-promise-everything-you-need-to-know/
We do secure a lot of work for our artistes as you will see via our website, where we list the majority of productions we have been a part of: https://universalextras.co.uk/extras/our-productions/
We sincerely hope to work with you again soon.
The UVE Team
Despite paying to be a priority artist
Despite paying to be a priority artist, haven't had any work from these people for over 18 months. They keep rejecting photos that other agencies are happy to accept, when I apply for jobs, I don't get a response. Not very impressed, these are nowhere near as good or reliable as other agencies I work with.
11 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi Neil,
Thanks for your review, we are sorry to hear you are dissatisfied with our service.
As an agency, we do our best to secure as much work for our members as possible. We understand how disheartening it can be, but depending on the schedule and where our productions are shooting, it is not always possible to guarantee regular work for everyone.
In an attempt to support our artistes, we introduced the Listing Fee pledge, where if you pay a listing fee after the 1st of March 2024 and do not secure a minimum of 10 days of work from us in a year, the next year will be completely free.
The full details can be found here: https://universalextras.co.uk/extras/extras-blog/the-28-day-payment-promise-everything-you-need-to-know/
Regarding our Job Board, we keep this up-to-date and use it to cast from daily. Jobs do remain listed until the final date of a role has passed, which means if a role is already filled you go into a backup list for that job. Applying via the app when you are suitable and available is a great way to notify us you are actively looking for work.
We sincerely hope to work with you again soon.
The UVE Team
Never again
I’ve done several jobs for them, lately however their level of service has gone right down hill. I won’t have any more time or resources wasted due to their poor planning. It’s a joke, when I called to cancel my account (as none of the message requests were done and I was still being text repeatedly over the same job I had declined repeatedly), they simply said ‘yes ok’ nobody asked why I wanted to leave or try and keep me on the books. They didn’t even ask who I was until I got to the account department. Zero customer service points. It’s all got a big one sided. There are plenty of other agencies, this one is no longer an option for me.
1 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your review, we are sorry to hear the feedback about your experience.
As an agency, we are proud to offer Uk-based phone support to all our artistes and clients. Due to the busy nature of our industry, our staff are often handling hundreds of calls daily. It sounds like in an attempt to be efficient here, we missed an opportunity to ask you why you wished to cancel to better understand your concerns.
We have attempted to review your call, but have no records from the mobile number we hold on file for you, which means you either called from a different number of the call was not recorded.
As such, if you would like to provide more detailed information about your experience, we would love to hear from you in an attempt to improve our service. If possible, please email info@universalextras.co.uk
We look forward to hearing from you.
The UVE Team
Submitted requested photos on numerous…
Submitted requested photos on numerous occasions, which were rejected. The explanation given was very vague and wasn't constructive or helpful. I would have loved to have been successful but when I phoned for advice was fobbed off with 'I'm sure they're aware of your interest and was left with the impression that I was bothering them!
1 October 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi Martin,
Thanks for your feedback.
We're sorry to hear about the problems you encountered when uploading photos. I can assure you that we very much care about your experience.
I can see that originally we took your photos at an open casting in 2019, and you have not successfully uploaded any images since.
We have a lot of different help articles on this topic on our website blog as it is an area that artistes often struggle with: https://universalextras.co.uk/extras/extras-blog
Photos are the single most important factor when securing work, so we want to give you the best possible chance of this.
In relation to your photo feedback, if you feel it was unclear, we would appreciate if you took a moment to email us at info@universalextras.co.uk (attaching the photo) so we can review them now and give you more detailed feedback.
We would love an opportunity to rectify this for you.
The UVE Team
Glad to have removed my services from…
Glad to have removed my services from universal extras, They are liquidating another part of the company. wonder how many extras haven't been paid from this liquidation
5 August 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi Kevin,
We’re a little confused by your review as we are unable to find any record of you working or requesting us to remove your services. Is it possible you may have mistaken us for another agency or were you registered using a different name?
In relation to your claim, we always pay our artistes and Uni-versal Extras is operating as normal.
In addition, our 28-day payment promise came into effect on March 1st 2024. All artistes were notified via email at the time, but you can also read more here if you missed this: https://universalextras.co.uk/extras/extras-blog/the-28-day-payment-promise-everything-you-need-to-know/
This pledge is a very public statement of our commitment to find our members work and pay them promptly. UVE has some of, if not the best, payment times in the UK industry.
If it is true that you never worked for us, we would appreciate if you can remove your comments regarding payment to artistes, given this is something you have not experienced and is simply not true.
The UVE Team
Worked with an Oscar winning actor in period drama thanks to UE
Spent 15 days working with an Oscar winning actor in locations including a Cathedral, 3 castles and a medieval court on the Thames all whilst wearing 15c costumes.
Add to that payment was made 30 days after each filming day.
Just be aware the agency does not make the final decision on booking so sometimes you can get availability checks but nothing comes of it. This is not UE’s fault, their job is to make suggestions and to do this they have to check your free .
All in all if you have the look and fit the criteria there is a chance you could be working in the most amazing industry.
All you need to do is get some pictures taken and sign up. You never know what could happen next.
14 March 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi Alun; thanks for your feedback. We're glad you had such a great experience! We look forward to working with you again soon. – The UVE Team
It’s a shame as this app was…
It’s a shame as this app was recommended to me by a fellow actor.
I missed a booking, due to the fact I genuinely thought it was the 19th June and not the 9th.
So I got banned. No second chances, no excuses. None of us clearly able to make a human mistake.
Very rude, when I email, literally no or little responses. Do not recommend.
Thanks for your response. I won’t become a key board warrior. I already complained that you never. Called me ‘multiple times’ and you couldn’t prove that you did when I asked for a call log.
Good luck with everything, I certainly will not be removing my rating. You are a terrible company, I would never recommend to any fellow actors
14 June 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi Kyle; thank you for your feedback.
As an agency, we do everything in our power to ensure good communication from our side and we expect the same from our artistes in return.
In this instance, our records indicate that you didn't turn up for filming. We attempted to contacted you multiple times via SMS and phone, but you didn't return our calls.
The dates for the job would have been made clear when checking your availability, confirming you for the booking and within the UVE Artiste app in real-time. We also send you call details, which you confirm, before every filming date.
That said, we're aware that humans make mistakes – the reason you were banned here was for failing to turn up to a booking and not returning our calls.
– The UVE Team
Don’t bother
Signed up with UVE almost a year ago. Many job ‘ offers’ but sadly not this time was the reply. Not one. I applied for jobs via the app and was also sent jobs via text ‘We’ve matched you to a role’. Really? Followed up a few days later with ‘unfortunately you didn’t get the role’. Not one job. Didn’t even cover the cost of the initial fee I paid when I signed up. I’ll have a large wager the same handful of people get the majority of the jobs. Utter waste of time and money. I’m not going to say it’s a scam but UVE is doing a good impression of one.
11 June 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi Andy; thank you for your feedback.
We do understand that a common pain point amongst our Artistes is being checked for jobs but then not being selected. If you are shortlisted and responding to our availability messages, that is because we feel you are suitable and want to put you forward.
We do our best to protect our Artistes from disappointment by explaining that a ‘pencil’ is a temporary hold and, sadly, we can never guarantee you will be booked. That is because the production always make the decision as to who they want to book.
As of March 1st, we introduced a new listing fee pledge whereby Artistes can expect a minimum of 10 days of paid work per year or receive the following year’s listing for absolutely nothing. We do hope that this, in some way, helps you approach further work with us with more confidence.
We’re always receptive to feedback, so thank you for providing us with opportunities to improve the UVE service.
We hope to work together again in future.
- The UVE Team
Joke. Save your money.
Joke.
No jobs after 3 years.
Just as your annual fee needs renewing a job....then pending then we'll tell you by this date then...
Oh surprisingly no job.
Then same again. Then same again.
Imagine how much money they are making from people who believe their texts.
11 June 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi William; thank you for your feedback.
We do understand that a common pain point amongst our Artistes is being checked for jobs but then not being selected. If you are shortlisted and responding to our availability messages, that is because we feel you are suitable and want to put you forward.
We do our best to protect our Artistes from disappointment by explaining that a ‘pencil’ is a temporary hold and, sadly, we can never guarantee you will be booked. That is because the production always make the decision as to who they want to book.
As of March 1st 2024, we introduced a new listing fee pledge whereby Artistes can expect a minimum of 10 days of paid work per year or receive the following year’s listing for absolutely nothing. We do hope that this, in some way, helps you approach further work with us with more confidence.
In relation to your last point, as an agency we work based on commission. When a production chooses not to book an artiste, we make 0 commission on them, therefore in reality your statement is quite the opposite as it costs us money to review and notify artistes who are not selected.
We’re always receptive to feedback, so thank you for providing us with opportunities to improve the UVE service.
We hope to work together again in future.
- The UVE Team
Petty and rigid people
Petty and rigid people!
I am not going to lay out my whole experience here but I will rate it. Total lack of flexibility and human touch.
Do yourself a favor and protect your money and your time. Avoid them!!
There are many other companies in this industry that are indeed reliable, collaborative, and worthwhile. Not these guys!
5 June 2024
Unprompted review
Reply from Uni-versal Extras
Hi Valentina; thanks for your feedback.
We’re very sorry you were unhappy with our service. We have not been able to locate you in our Artiste database, but would very much like to learn more about your experience.
If you would be comfortable sharing your full name (as it appears on your UVE profile), please email our Artiste Support team with more information about what happened to enquiry@universalextras.co.uk
The satisfaction of our Artistes is paramount, so thank you for taking the time to offer us your feedback.
- The UVE Team
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