Strict rule Oscars seat fillers have to follow if they’re sat next to a celebrity

Los Angeles is gearing up to host the 97th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday evening (March 2), where hundreds of famous faces will descend on The Dolby Theatre for the annual film showcase.

Wicked, Anora and The Brutalist are among this year’s Best Picture nominees, while The Apprentice’s Jeremy Strong, Demi Moore, and Colman Domingo are all up for important performance gongs.

Unfortunately, the Oscars aren’t open to the general public to attend. Instead, us mere mortals in the UK must tune in from midnight on March 3 from the comfort of our own homes.

However, if you ever did want to go to the ceremony itself, then you’ll need to be an active or a lifetime member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Nominees are also invited and are usually given one or two extra tickets to the gala so that their loved ones can come along.

As well as the stars themselves, media members are usually given press accreditation to cover the event.

While some journalists are allowed inside the 3,300-capacity venue, most will be positioned outside on the red carpet or situated behind the scenes of various after-parties.

There is another way to get into the exclusive event though. You could become a seat filler.

Like it says on the tin, a seat filler is responsible for holding seats for a guest while they schmooze with other celebrities, grab drinks for the bar, or just run to the toilet.

Seat fillers are employed so that the Oscars crowd always looks full (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

This keeps the audience looking full and free of gaps, making it an overall more astonishing spectacle for the television audience (AKA us) watching on at home, reports Business Insider.

Refinery29 wrote in 2018 that there are around 300 seat fillers employed per year.

To become one, you must have some sort of affiliation with ABC, the network the Oscars are broadcasted on, or the Academy itself, before filling out an application

For some, sitting next to an A-list celebrity or a nominated actor from their favourite movie may sound like a dream.

However, it isn’t all fun in games.

In a review from her time as a seat filler in 2022, Taiyler Simone Mitchell explained she was required to arrive hours ahead of the event to get briefed.

“The show doesn't start until 5 p.m. but seat fillers have to be at the venue for check-in by 10:15 am,” she explained to Business Insider.

Celebrities aren't expected to stay glued to their seats through the whole ceremony (Instagram/@ellendegeneres)

This meant the seat filler was required to do her makeup, have her hair done, get ready for the event and drive to the location extremely early on in the morning.

Speaking about the event itself, she claimed her busiest moments came during the television breaks, and that most of the crew didn’t remain in the seats they began work in.

At one point, Mitchell was asked to leave the venue for 30 minutes because there was an overflow of seat fillers.

She said that she missed the Encanto and Megan Thee Stallion performance of 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' when she was asked to exit.

The seat filler also revealed that she and others working at the 94th Academy Award weren’t ‘supposed to chat with celebrities’. Instead, they were told to remain silent, not speak unless spoken to, and not exhibit any fan behaviour, such as asking for pictures or autographs.

Reckon you could sit next to Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo without fangirling? Strong enough not to stop Sebastian Stan in his tracks as he heads to the bar?

If you think you could, then maybe a seat filler at next year’s Oscars could be the job for you!