An Ariana Grande Video Extra Recounts Not-So Glamorous Time On 'Thank U Next' Set

30 November 2020, 15:12

An extra on Ariana Grande's 'Thank U, Next' video has spilled all
An extra on Ariana Grande's 'Thank U, Next' video has spilled all. Picture: Getty / Ariana Grande/YouTube

If you’re an Ariana Grande superfan there’s little chance you’re focusing on anything other than Ari herself in her music videos, but you may want to re-focus your gaze for a moment.

You’d think that landing a job as an extra alongside an artist as huge as Ariana Grande would be one of the best jobs in the world, but it’s not as glitzy as it sounds.

Ariana Grande’s ‘Positions’ & Mac Miller’s ‘Crickets’ Are Secretly Linked

An actor in the music video for Ariana’s ‘Thank U, Next’ has spilled what it’s like to be on set for such a huge project, claiming six hours worth of shooting were cut down to 30 seconds – and his experience is actually hilarious.

The extra was the football player on the far right
The extra was the football player on the far right. Picture: Ariana Grande/YouTube

Ariana Grande’s ex-boyfriend Ricky responds to 'thank u, next'

In a Reddit thread sparked by a user who noticed actor Patton Oswalt stood still for three whole minutes in an episode of King of Queens, people exchanged their own experiences of being in the background of Hollywood.

One actor, who says he “did background work in Hollywood for a few years” replied to say sometimes you can’t help but stand motionless.

Ariana Grande recreated her favourite teen rom-coms in 'Thank U, Next'
Ariana Grande recreated her favourite teen rom-coms in 'Thank U, Next'. Picture: Ariana Grande/YouTube

In a comment which has received plenty of attention, he wrote: “I was a football player in Ariana Grande's music video 'thank you next.' The cheer leading scene is like 30seconds in the video but we went from 9 pm to 3am [sic].

“I’m player 76 far right in the background, you can see me goofing around wiggling my butt because no one told me to do anything. Then they cut to a shot that was done around 3am. You can see how I change, I go from wiggling my butt to angrily pacing, wanting to go home. That video was posted 2 days later, I was paid 2 weeks after that.”

Ariana Grande - thank u, next (Official Video)

And after a quick re-watch of the video looking out for ‘player 76’, it seems the actor’s experience was exactly as he said.

In fact, most of the players look quite lost as Ari and her cheerleading pals prance around on the track.

But isn’t that why the video’s so iconic!? We came to see Ariana recreate four of our favourite teen rom-coms and that’s exactly what we got.

It’s Ariana’s world and we’re all just living in it.

> Have You Got A Smart Speaker? Tell It To "Play Capital"!