Donate SIGN UP

How Much Money Do Actors Earn?

Avatar Image
bednobs | 14:02 Wed 28th Nov 2018 | How it Works
17 Answers
you see the headline figures for hollywood actors eg tom cruise who earns millions per film but what about people who for example have speaking parts in adverts, or small parts in (for example) holby city, or parts in stage plays?
or is it a case of how long is a piece of string
Gravatar

Answers

1 to 17 of 17rss feed

Best Answer

No best answer has yet been selected by bednobs. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.

For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
//or is it a case of how long is a piece of string//
Yes
The Government's National Careers Service website gives £420 per week as a guide figure for a theatre performer. (However it needs to be remembered that many actors might get a few weeks work at those sorts of pay rates and then be out of work for several months until the next job comes along):
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/job-profiles/actor

TV work is said to be better remunerated than stage work, particularly as it can take half a day to complete a performance, rather than spending several weeks on stage performing in a similar role.

From having spoken to a few actors though, what really pays good money is getting work in TV commercials.
Actors being "out of work " ? They are simply resting, dear, resting!
Extras can be anything from £60+ per day on low budgets.
Adverts consist of two parts, day rate and useage fee. Day rate for most people in adverts can be as little as £200 sometimes even less. But the buyout for an advert is then added on top if you have lines or are considered 'featured' in some way- those are anything from £1k to £35K + if it's an embarrassing thing you're advertising that will 'mark' you as the Tena Lady girl, or the Chlamydia girl etc. there will also be buyouts for stills, POS etc qnd for different territories. Advert buyouts stipulate a length of time and if they transmit over that time it's usually the same useage fee +10-20%.
TV rates vary massively from £200 for walks ons to thousands per episode if you're starring, which can accumulate to millions over the duration of a TV series. sometimes films struggle to get funding and an A lister who believes in the project might waive their fee in favour of a cut of the films returns.
Theatre is usually £525 for a tour with a subsistence of about £150 per week but lower for TIE and low budget tours and far more once you are a 'name'.
I'm optioned for three years on something I've just signed for, but I have worked for expenses in the past and would do so again for the right project.
Actors seldom work all the time and it can be years between castings, so that money above goes literally nowhere.
Quote:
"Actors in the UK used to be paid by the "repeat fee system," according to how many times the ad was played. However, that was replaced by a buyout system, where actors and companies agree on a set fee.

Starring in just one TV commercial, you can earn anywhere between £2,000 and £20,000 from a buyout"

Source:
http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-to-land-a-role-in-a-tv-commercial-2016-4
Yeah I prefer the buyout system, it's fairer and if the ad is a success and they do a series of them and it re-runs elswhere, it can be the gift that just keeps on giving. Gocompare guy is a perfect example.
As Kvalidir has hinted at above, getting thought of as strongly linked to a particular product (or to a particular series of ads), isn't always good for an actor's career.

For example it might be difficult to view Rich Keeble in a serious stage role without thinking of that ruddy hippo!
http://www.richkeeble.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/vlcsnap-2017-05-08-21h09m50s491-1024x590.png
What about repertory actors, do they have a wages scale or do they get a cut of the box office takings?
In the late 80s, a tv drama, 'Dawn And The Candidate' was filmed in my area of Burnley. It centred on the relationship between a single mother from a council estate, helping a fledgling Tory candidate despite the reaction from her friends and neighbours. Some of the action took place in our Conservative club where a group of us were on 'standby' as extras for about a week. Only a handful of us were actually used in the final cut, but we were paid £40 per day.
This has just appeared on the BBC website:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-46356689

AL:
Rep died a death almost everywhere in the UK several decades ago. Hardly any theatres now have resident companies:
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2012/nov/20/repertory-theatre-ian-mckellen
The TV series Beowulf was filmed in my area and I heard extras were getting next to nothing, mainly just travelling expenses and hospitality.
Buenchico - I may be wrong but I think Dundee Rep has the only resident company in Scotland. They put on great shows too.
Bueno tha's strange because googling 'repertory theatre' brings up loads of rep theaters all over the country
As Chris said there are really no rep companies anymore AL, (more is the pity) they were an excellent grounding, and yeah even on large productions extras get a pittance. I was in a film released last year where they got no travelling expenses and £85 per day out of which they had to pay commission to the extras agency that provided them.
Yeah but those are the names of the theatres AL, they no longer have a rep company in them. Like Birmingham Rep etc is the theatre name for example because it used to have.
It’s situational and subjective
Question Author
thanks

1 to 17 of 17rss feed

Do you know the answer?

How Much Money Do Actors Earn?

Answer Question >>

Related Questions

Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.