Actors: Duties and Salary
by Robyn Tellefsen
There's a lot more to acting than the finished product you see on stage, on screen, or on TV.
What does an actor do?
Most actors sign with an agent to help them pinpoint the acting classes they need and get auditions for acting jobs. Once an actor secures an audition, it's his or her responsibility to learn as much as possible about the part, the director, and the project as a whole. Depending on what the actor learns, audition preparation might require accent work, historical research, or even personal appearance changes such as shoe lifts or period-specific clothing. Qualities like the right "look" can make or break an actor's chances of winning a role.
Once an actor gets a job, he or she must learn lines and be prepared to put in long hours at all rehearsals, performances, tapings, and any other gatherings the director arranges. Though acting lends itself to a grueling work schedule, projects may be sporadic, which allows the actor to rest (or work another job!).
Unfortunately, talented actors can go on hundreds of auditions and not land a single part. That's why actors must learn to handle rejection gracefully and secure part-time work while continuing to look for acting jobs.
How much do actors get paid and what kinds of acting jobs can I get?
The majority of working actors do not make the multimillion dollar wages reported in entertainment magazines. For the 70,000 working actors in the U.S., the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median hourly wage of $16.59. Unionized film and television actors with speaking parts (members of the Screen Actors Guild and/or the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) earn a minimum daily rate of $759 or $2,634 for a five-day week, additional compensation for reruns and foreign telecasts, and health and pension plan benefits. Actors' Equity Association Broadway actors make a minimum weekly salary of $1,509; off-Broadway actors receive minimums ranging from $516 to $976 a week; and regional theater actors earn between $544 and $840 per week.
One of the benefits of choosing an acting career is the wide variety of acting jobs available. If you have a strong background in music and dance, off-Broadway or community musical theater companies are a good place for you to find work and add credits to your resume. Television commercials are another place for actors to be discovered and get their "big break."
Other acting jobs can be found in nightclubs, cabarets, cruise ships and resorts, theme parks, regional television studios, and on the radio. Voiceover and narration work is also available for advertisements, books on CD, cartoons, and video games. Acting jobs may be more widely available in big cities like Los Angeles and New York, but there is also a great deal more competition for those jobs. It might be wise to start out in a smaller city in order to get more experience and a more demanding role than you might get in the entertainment industry spotlight.
What does an actor do?
Most actors sign with an agent to help them pinpoint the acting classes they need and get auditions for acting jobs. Once an actor secures an audition, it's his or her responsibility to learn as much as possible about the part, the director, and the project as a whole. Depending on what the actor learns, audition preparation might require accent work, historical research, or even personal appearance changes such as shoe lifts or period-specific clothing. Qualities like the right "look" can make or break an actor's chances of winning a role.
Once an actor gets a job, he or she must learn lines and be prepared to put in long hours at all rehearsals, performances, tapings, and any other gatherings the director arranges. Though acting lends itself to a grueling work schedule, projects may be sporadic, which allows the actor to rest (or work another job!).
Unfortunately, talented actors can go on hundreds of auditions and not land a single part. That's why actors must learn to handle rejection gracefully and secure part-time work while continuing to look for acting jobs.
How much do actors get paid and what kinds of acting jobs can I get?
The majority of working actors do not make the multimillion dollar wages reported in entertainment magazines. For the 70,000 working actors in the U.S., the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median hourly wage of $16.59. Unionized film and television actors with speaking parts (members of the Screen Actors Guild and/or the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) earn a minimum daily rate of $759 or $2,634 for a five-day week, additional compensation for reruns and foreign telecasts, and health and pension plan benefits. Actors' Equity Association Broadway actors make a minimum weekly salary of $1,509; off-Broadway actors receive minimums ranging from $516 to $976 a week; and regional theater actors earn between $544 and $840 per week.
One of the benefits of choosing an acting career is the wide variety of acting jobs available. If you have a strong background in music and dance, off-Broadway or community musical theater companies are a good place for you to find work and add credits to your resume. Television commercials are another place for actors to be discovered and get their "big break."
Other acting jobs can be found in nightclubs, cabarets, cruise ships and resorts, theme parks, regional television studios, and on the radio. Voiceover and narration work is also available for advertisements, books on CD, cartoons, and video games. Acting jobs may be more widely available in big cities like Los Angeles and New York, but there is also a great deal more competition for those jobs. It might be wise to start out in a smaller city in order to get more experience and a more demanding role than you might get in the entertainment industry spotlight.
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