跑龙套 (pǎo lóng tào): to play a small role

Right after graduating from university, he played small roles in film crews, with only one line a day, sometimes just standing behind the lead actor as background.

The director said this production needs many extras to play small roles, such as passersby, soldiers, or restaurant customers. Although they have few close-ups, without them the whole scene would not look real.

He played small roles for ten years, and only at the age of thirty-five did he get a supporting role, gradually becoming known to audiences.

In this movie, although I only played a small role as a pedestrian standing on the street, I was already very satisfied to be part of a big production.