Meet the Gen Z PAs Behind the Show

Escorting an A-lister to their seat just in time to receive an award as they dash back from a bathroom break. Ensuring a presenter’s dressing room is outfitted to specifications. Dealing with a publicist attempting to skirt clearance protocols for talent. This random assortment of tasks may seem arbitrary, even trivial. Yet these duties, along with dozens of others — details that can mean the difference between an awards show running smoothly or collapsing into farce — fall to one type of employee: fanny pack-wearing, headset-equipped, panic- quelling production assistants.

These 20- and 30-somethings — about 25 to 30 staff each major show — are jacks of all trades, often expected to be among the first in and last out at any given ceremony, for a pay rate of around $200 for a 10- to 12-hour day. Most are freelancers, hearing about potential gigs via word-of-mouth, an old boss or Facebook groups. Virtually every facet of the awards show ecosystem rests on the labor and logistical efforts of millennial and Gen Z gig workers. “I didn’t even have a second to breathe,” says PA Antonieta Sanchez of her experience at this year’s E! News Golden Globes red carpet. “People are working 24/7 for an entire week in some cases. This isn’t just a handful of producers that make this happen.”

T.C. Amos IV, a PA and aspiring actor, started out in the industry eight years ago as a valet at Warner Bros. before securing audience PA gigs from OSLA, one of a handful of companies that provide audience fillers for events like the Critics Choice Awards and Globes.

The 34-year-old’s résumé includes stints at the CCAs and the Kids’ Choice Awards. These days, in Los Angeles’ economic climate, he rarely turns down a job: “I’ve always told them, ‘Yo, as long as I’m not famous and y’all need people, I’m here.’ “

Assistants working at awards shows often shoulder responsibilities that outmatch their place in the Hollywood pecking order. The biggest task for those working backstage and on the red carpet as ushers or security is making sure no one without proper clearance enters the ceremony before they’re supposed to, which makes them gatekeepers who must say no to individuals with a lot more sway. Some ­­— read talent and publicists —­ are not thrilled to comply. “Publicists were the biggest ones because they want to go in ahead of time and make sure that their client’s table was set up,” says one PA (who wished to remain anonymous as many assistants are required to sign NDAs), recalling one rep who sought out the head of production to help bulldoze her way in. “She would not let up,” the PA says. “Just let her in,” they remember telling a co-worker, for fear of being fired.

Another PA remembers having to procure and transport an “enormous cake,” intended to demonstrate gratitude to one of the most powerful female celebrities in Hollywood, and being asked to report back if she even touched it. “Everyone is just zipping through [the backstage area], so we’re trying not to drop the cake,” they say. “This humongous cake, and it’s not touched.” (The crew got to eat it instead.)

Sanchez emphasizes that the cleanup that comes after the glitz and glamour can be challenging. “We had to pack up in the cold between all these giant semi-trucks,” she says. “We’re making sure we’re not getting hit by them since we can’t see them. It’s so foggy, and we’ve been on our feet for hours. Some of us have been up since 6 in the morning going into 10, 11, 12 o’clock at night.”

Ultimately, the work is a stepping stone to that next thing. Andy Quintana, a 35-year-old PA, was on his way to being a civil engineer when he took an acting class that led to stints as a tour guide at Warner Bros., an accounting office in Koreatown and finally a PA for the Oscars and the NAACP Image Awards. Quintana says the opportunity to interact with industry heavy hitters is a distinct perk. Such interactions can spawn good moments — Amos was thrilled to be caught on camera behind Shogun‘s Hiroyuki Sanada while helping seat-fill at the CCAs — as well as ones assistants might wish to forget. Sanchez, a photography fan, spotted her ultimate A-lister on the Globes carpet: Cole Walliser, who invented the GLAMbot camera that captures slo-mo video of celebrities on the carpet. “I tripped in front of him,” she says. “I’m like, ‘He’s not going to let me do a GLAMbot now!’ ”

The one thing that PAs can count on, other than friends back home saying how “cool” their job is, is being able to dine out on the memories — good or bad. “I loved how [Oscar host] Jimmy Kimmel took the time to send us notes thanking us, and he sent us lunch,” says Quintana, who recalls running home to call his parents about it. “Those little, tiny things really do matter at the end of the day.”

This story appeared in the Feb. 26 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.