The principal actors of a production — as opposed to the Second Team (stand-ins) used during lighting and camera rehearsals.
Technical Details
First Team talent receive separate dressing rooms with a minimum floor area of 9 m², their own make-up stations, and reserved parking spaces within 100 meters of the set. The "First Team" contract clause guarantees maximum waiting times of 12 hours between call time and the start of shooting. For exterior shoots, air-conditioned trailers with a ceiling height of 2.4 meters are available. Second Unit shots without First Team talent reduce the daily rate to 50-70% of the agreed amount.
History & Development
MGM established the First Team system in 1927 to optimize costly star appearances. Louis B. Mayer introduced the strict separation between lead and supporting actors after delays caused by Greta Garbo exceeded the budget of "Flesh and the Devil" by $340,000. From 1935, the Screen Actors Guild standardized the terminology. The system reached its perfection in the 1950s when studios kept up to 8 First Team actors under long-term contracts simultaneously.
Practical Application in Film
Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" (2017) worked with a 6-person First Team who were present for 89% of the 106 shooting days. Marvel Studios coordinates up to 12 First Team actors in "Avengers" productions with individual shooting schedules, allowing for a maximum of 40 shooting days per actor. Continuity requires identical costumes in triplicate and documented make-up protocols for each shooting day. Sickness of a First Team actor costs an average of 180,000 Euros per lost shooting day.
Comparison & Alternatives
Featured Players (supporting actors with names in the opening credits) do not require a permanent set presence and work with flexible 48-hour call times. Background Artists (extras) receive communal dressing rooms and standardized catering. Ensemble films like "The Grand Budapest Hotel" blur these lines through multiple lead roles with varying shooting volumes. Streaming productions are developing new hybrid models with rotating First Teams for episodic formats.