Matt Damon was reportedly paid $15 million for starring in “The Odyssey.” Much of the cast of “Orange Is the New Black” was paid $900 per day. With such a large pay gap, you’re likely wondering how much actors make on average.
An actor’s salary is different depending on the medium (film, television, or theater) and the type of role (lead, supporting, or background). It also depends on experience level: An experienced performer can ask for a higher salary than someone fresh out of school. Read more to find out how much you can expect to earn as an actor.
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$56,903/year: According to ZipRecruiter, the average actor salary is approximately $56,903, with a range of roughly $15,500 to $139,000. Unless they’re employed regularly on a television show, actors tend to work on a project-by-project basis, which means they may not work at all some years.
$23.33/hour: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median hourly wage for actors was $23.33 in May 2024, across roughly 57,000 working actors. The spread is enormous: The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $14 an hour, while the top 10% earned more than $97.19.
Averages tell a different story than medians, because a handful of very large paydays pull the mean upward. The figure also varies by medium and location: Per a May 2023 detailed BLS report, New York’s hourly mean wage for actors was $58.91, Georgia’s was $49.68, and California’s was $45.76—the three highest state wages. Not surprisingly, all three are booming in film and television production.
Actors are paid differently based on their chosen medium.
Generally speaking, screen actors are paid a day rate and stage actors a weekly rate. If screen actors are needed for more than five days, however, they will be paid a weekly rate. Rates vary if actors are needed for the entirety of the film shoot or television season. Television actors can also be paid per episode.
Those minimums are set by contract, and the contract just changed. SAG-AFTRA members ratified a new TV/Theatrical Agreement on June 4, 2026, by a vote of 91.42% to 8.58%. It took effect July 1, 2026, runs through June 30, 2030, and raises minimum rates 3% each year—12.55% compounded over the full term. Every rate in this guide reflects the first year of that agreement.
Film and TV actors are paid residuals for traditional projects distributed beyond the original scope. The SAG contract also guarantees residuals for actors working on streaming projects. Those involved in high-budget subscription video on demand (HBSVOD) projects receive revenue residuals based on upfront pay per episode, the streaming service’s subscriber count, and a depreciating percentage of years the project has been streamed.
There’s also a bonus for hits. A production viewed by at least 20% of its platform’s domestic subscriber base within 90 days of release—or within the first 90 days of any later exhibition year—triggers a success bonus for its performers. Most of that money goes directly to the cast of the qualifying title; the remainder flows into the Success Bonus Distribution Fund, which SAG-AFTRA distributes more broadly among streaming performers. Under the 2026 agreement, the share routed to that fund rises from 25% to 35% for titles that begin streaming on or after July 1, 2027.
Two other changes are worth knowing. Residuals for television episodes and theatrical films that later move onto a subscription streaming service went up by an average of 5%, and that increase reaches back to productions that started principal photography on or after July 1, 2020. Foreign residuals for the largest streaming platforms also increased effective July 1, 2026.
Brad Pitt in “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood” Courtesy Andrew Cooper/Sony Pictures
How much you can expect to make per movie depends on how many days you are needed on set and how much your agent can negotiate. A film shoot can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months.
SAG-AFTRA minimum rates can vary based on a film’s budget. Every major film and television studio in Hollywood operates under a SAG-AFTRA contract, so those minimums apply; agents can negotiate more for their clients if necessary.
Actors usually start out at a day rate, and if they are needed for longer, the payment scheme is bumped up to a weekly rate, and then to a run-of-the-picture rate. The following rates come from the newly negotiated theatrical contract; they are current from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, and will increase 3% each July 1 through 2029.
Leads and supporting players: $80,000/shoot. As a lead or supporting player, your role likely extends the length of the entire shoot. Those run-of-the-picture deals (known as Schedule F contracts) carry a minimum guarantee of $80,000 for a theatrical film, and they are almost always negotiated upward from there.
Performers: $1,283/day. On a film with a budget of at least $2 million, under the SAG-AFTRA theatrical contract, the minimum day rate is $1,283 per day and $4,456 for the week.
Extras: $231/day. Background actors make $231 a day, although they will be paid more if required to get wet or work in a smoke-filled environment, personally provide props, have body makeup or oil applied to more than half their body, or use special skills.
Stand-ins: $270/day. Stand-in and photo-double actors earn $270 a day.
Generally, the smaller the role and the earlier you are in your career, the smaller the paycheck. For example, Brad Pitt made just $6,000 in the 1991 film “Thelma & Louise,” his first major role. Fast-forward several years: Pitt will reportedly be paid $40 million for the upcoming “The Adventures of Cliff Booth.” As these numbers show, there’s no shame in starting small.
An actor’s pay on a television show depends on how many episodes they are contracted for. The following rates are current through June 30, 2027, and will also increase 3% each July 1 through 2029.
Performers in one episode: $1,283/day
- $1,283/day
- $3,252/three-day period
- $4,456/week
Major role performers in one episode: $7,057–$11,290/week
- $7,057/week for half-hour programs
- $11,290/week for one-hour programs
Performers in multiple programs: $3,302–$4,574/week
- $3,302/week for half-hour programs
- $3,302/week for one-hour programs
- $3,881/week for 90-minute programs
- $4,574/week for two-hour programs
Series regulars: $4,456–$6,996/week
- $4,456/week for 13 episodes in half-hour programs; $5,361/week for one-hour programs
- $5,101/week for seven to 12 episodes in half-hour programs; $5,981/week for one-hour programs
- $5,947/week for six episodes in half-hour programs; $6,996/week in one-hour programs
Wages vary depending on what agents can negotiate and the actor’s influence on the show. For example, the cast of “The Big Bang Theory” (2007–2019) were mostly unknown when they started out on the long-running CBS comedy. As their characters became more beloved, the cast became integral to the show’s success, and their salaries adjusted accordingly. Jim Parsons started at roughly $60,000 per episode and was making $1 million an episode by Season 8. For the final two seasons, he and four costars did something unusual: They voluntarily reduced their own salaries by $100,000 an episode so that costars Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch could be brought up to roughly $500,000 an episode.
Pavel L Photo and Video/Shutterstock
The salary for a theater actor varies depending on how long a show has been running, which can be anywhere from a few weeks to a month to years.
Like screen actors, theater actors have their own union, Actors’ Equity Association, which dictates the minimum salary its members must be paid. Much of professional theater in the U.S., including Broadway and national tours, operates under Actors’ Equity agreements. Theater actors are paid on a weekly basis. Equity and the Broadway League ratified a new three-year production contract in October 2025 that runs through September 2028 and raises minimums by 3% a year.
Broadway performers: $2,717/week. On Broadway, under the production contract, the minimum weekly salary for an actor is $2,717; pay increases are also available depending on the requirements of the role. A chorus member who also plays an individual role gets paid a small premium above the weekly minimum. If you are understudying a principal role, you get another weekly pay bump, and swings—who cover multiple ensemble members—receive an additional 6%. Dance captains earn a further weekly increment. Actors also get a bonus if they are with a show for more than a year, and there’s a small bump if the production recoups its costs and starts turning a profit (that amount varies).
The minimums are set, but actors can negotiate for a higher fee—especially if they’re a celebrity. In 2012, Al Pacino was paid a headline-generating $125,000 a week to star in “Glengarry Glen Ross,” matched only by George Clooney in 2025 for “Good Night, and Good Luck.” But it’s not just household names. Broadway actor Nik Walker told “The Financial Diet” he was making around $240,000 a year—with a pay bump if the show sold well at the box office—while playing the lead role in the 2019 Broadway musical “Ain’t Too Proud.”
Off-Broadway performers: roughly $700–$1,600/week. Off-Broadway theaters are Manhattan venues outside the Broadway District with fewer than 500 seats. Equity sorts them into five categories by seating capacity. The current Off-Broadway agreement began July 29, 2024, and runs through July 30, 2028. Broadly, an actor performing in a 400-seat theater will make more than an actor performing in a 99-seat theater.
These amounts also vary depending on how much an actor’s agent can negotiate.
Actors can be paid for more than just film, television, and theater. You can make money doing commercials, shooting corporate and educational videos, appearing in music videos, and doing voiceover work. If you are a union actor, all of those jobs have a minimum base pay.
Commercials: $783.10/session. If you have an on-camera speaking role in a commercial, the fee is $855.20 per session ($643 off camera), and additional payments are owed based on where and how long the spot runs. A 13-week national cable buy pays $4,100 on camera, for instance, while a 52-week national cable buy pays $13,500. A separate commercials contract ratified in 2025 overhauled these usage categories, and those rates run from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2027.
Voiceover: varies. Voice acting is covered under several different contracts, depending on the medium and type. Under rates in effect through Oct. 31, 2026, a video game voiceover day performer earns $567.50 to perform one voice for one hour, per the union’s interactive media agreement.
If you are an actor just starting out, you can expect to make the minimum salary as stipulated by SAG-AFTRA or Equity. Once you land an agent, they can walk you through how much you can expect to make and where you might see a pay bump.
As you move up the entertainment ladder and get more credits on your résumé, you (or your agent) will be able to negotiate a higher pay rate. And perhaps one day, you too can ask for $1 million an episode.
