Before he was Andy Dwyer in “Parks and Recreation,” Star-Lord in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Owen Grady in the “Jurassic World” trilogy, Chris Pratt stayed afloat by waiting tables and living in a van on the beach. Acting isn’t a steady, salaried job; it’s a sea of uncertainty where paychecks fluctuate like the tides of the beach Pratt called home. Here, we dive into the ways you can navigate the turbulent waters of the entertainment industry without feeling like you’re drowning.
JUMP TO
- How do I turn acting into a full-time job?
- What are the different types of acting jobs?
- What are the best jobs outside the entertainment industry for actors?
- Is it hard to make a living as an actor?
- How much does it cost to start an acting career?
- How can I prepare my taxes as an actor?
- How do actors get health insurance and other benefits?
- How do actors make a living?
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1. Commit. The first step to making a living as an actor is making a commitment to yourself. If you want acting to be more than just your hobby, you need to treat it like a job. Acting is not a career you can pursue half-heartedly. You’ll need to focus significant energy and effort toward your ultimate goal of being a professional actor.
2. Submit. Prowl castings like it’s your job—because it is! Sign up for Backstage and seek out every opportunity you can find. No one will hand you jobs, especially in the beginning. It’s up to you to go out there and find them.
3. Improve. Be the best that you can be. There’s no shortage of competition for acting jobs. In order to book, you will have to set yourself apart and be at the top of your game. That means taking classes, working on monologues and scenes, keeping abreast of industry trends and news, and keeping your marketing materials up-to-date.
4. Maximize your skill set. Identify and hone the special skills and talents that set you apart, since they can get you into more audition rooms. Athletic skills like parkour, for instance, are often in demand, as are the ability to play musical instruments, speak foreign languages, and perform various styles of dance.
5. Crush the audition. Most actors hate auditioning, but it’s a necessary evil. Our advice? Get good at auditioning. Auditioning is a skill. Think of it as a muscle that you need to warm up, condition, and flex regularly; you can’t expect biceps if you don’t go to the gym. Instead of seeing auditions as a chore, think of them as a chance to act, to practice for the next paying gig, and to make new connections.
6. Prioritize paid work. It’s impossible to make a living as an actor if you only do unpaid work. Acting is hard, and as with any job, you deserve to be paid for your time. You are a professional; it’s within your rights to demand to be treated as such. Backstage has a “paid only” filter which you can use to only search for paid gigs.
7. Use unpaid work to grow. Don’t rule out the occasional unpaid gig if you can afford to. Not all productions can afford to pay, and some unpaid projects can pay off in unexpected ways. If you see artistic value in the project; think it will help you grow as an actor; believe it is a story that needs to be told; want to add credits to your resume or certain clips to your reel; or have a chance to make promising connections within the industry, it’s not a bad idea to consider unpaid gigs from time to time. Student projects in particular can have value down the line, as their films often make it into the festival circuit, and if a fledgling director has a bright future ahead of them, you might be brought along for something big.
8. Grind. Work as much as possible. Work begets work. Every gig, no matter how small, is part of your journey and offers you the chance to practice your craft, learn from other members of the community, and grow your network. Each job could lead to the next. Stay in touch with people you work with. The AD on that student film set might end up snagging a job at a big casting agency in a few years. Be sure to exchange information when you wrap on a gig.
9. Be professional. Unprofessional behavior on set can ruin your chances of being hired again. Word travels fast in the industry. Be on time, know your lines, and don’t be a diva.
10. Network. Referrals are the oil in the cogs of the industry machine. Directors, casting directors, and other actors prefer to work with people they already know. Go to networking events. You’ll get to meet like minds, and you never know who you might meet. Always carry business cards with you.
11. Get representation. Find an agent. Your agent only makes money if you make money, so it’s in their best interest to push you for high-paying jobs.
If you’re reading this page, you likely already have an idea of the type of acting work you hope to do. Maybe you dream of enthralling a full house in a Broadway theater, or long to see yourself on the big screen someday. But acting is a vast and varied career field that encompasses opportunities you may never have considered, many of which pay—and some of which can be quite lucrative! Below is a guide to the types of acting jobs available to the working actor beyond those in film, TV, or theater:
- Content creation: Social media has obliterated the traditional roadblocks to stardom by making it possible for anyone to broadcast their talents and gain fan followings. Increasingly, casting directors and show creators are looking to YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for the next big thing.
- Commercials: We’ve all been swayed into buying products by great commercials, and advertisers are always on the lookout for actors with charisma, charm, and dazzling smiles to help them do so. If you’re lucky, you could make a year’s salary in one TV spot and reap the rewards of residuals for years to come (just ask Stephanie Courtney, aka “Flo from Progressive”—she makes an estimated $1 million per year!).
- Print modeling: Forget the runway. Print modeling jobs often seek regular people over traditional runway models, and are often quite lucrative. You might see yourself in catalogs, on posters, website banners, and other promotional images for businesses and organizations.
- Voiceover: We’ve all heard that signature voice in commercials. If you have a compelling voice and a talent for enunciating and emoting, there’s a ton of work out there narrating commercials, audiobooks, documentaries, and podcasts as well as voicing characters in animated films and video games.
- Industrials: Companies hire actors to play employees in internal corporate training videos. These videos usually aren’t circulated outside of the company, but as with anything in the corporate sector, they typically pay well.
- Hosting: Travel, cooking, fashion, entertainment, science… you could get paid to share your passion for just about any subject as a host for TV shows, radio shows, and websites, as long as you bring your bubbly personality and boundless enthusiasm.
- Cruise ships: Cruise lines hire performers (usually those with musical theater chops) to be in shows as onboard entertainment for their guests. These contracts can last anywhere from a few months to several years. Grab your passport, and you could get paid to act, sing, and dance your way around the world!
- Theme parks: Disney World and Universal Studios have built their empires on creating classic, beloved movie and TV characters, and hire actors to bring those characters to life for children and their families visiting from around the globe. In addition to the biggies, local theme parks like Six Flags are where many successful performers get their starts.
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Don’t underestimate your employability and experience as an actor: you possess skills that are highly sought after by employers across the board. Empathy, public speaking, communication, and emotional intelligence serve nearly every public-facing professional role. Here are some jobs outside the entertainment industry that are specifically suited to actors:
- Standardized patient: Medical schools and hospitals specifically seek out actors to play patients in training simulations. Typically, you’ll play a role according to a character breakdown provided by the school, memorize the case history, improvise patient-practitioner interactions, and evaluate students and give feedback on their bedside manner and information gathering skills.
- Law: Courts and law firms hire actors to play witnesses and jury members to do a “trial run” of the different ways in which cases may play out.
- Business: Many companies hire actors to conduct internal training sessions for their employees to practice and hone their corporate communication and presentation skills.
- Children’s party performers: Remember when you were a kid and wanted Batman or a Disney princess at your party? Now it’s your chance to fulfill your own childhood dream of playing these iconic characters and brighten up childrens’ special days while you’re at it. Children’s party companies also seek actors with special skills like clowning, balloon art, and magic.
- Educational theater: Some theater companies tour the country performing at schools and colleges to raise awareness and educate young adults on causes like the environment, civil rights, social justice, and health.
- Teaching: What could be more fulfilling than sharing your passion for the craft with young minds? Actors of every level continue to learn, from young preschoolers just having fun to serious actors in BFA, MFA, conservatory programs. Join an existing program or develop your own class. You can teach in person or online.
- Promotional modeling: Actors are sought after by companies looking for attractive, friendly people to help raise awareness of their brands. You may be tasked with handing out product samples or flyers on the street, staffing events, or approaching potential customers in public.
- Trade shows: These jobs entail manning booths at industry expos and acting as an ambassador for a company or brand. You might give demonstrations, or speak individually with potential clients and other professionals in the industry to raise awareness for your employer.
- Survival jobs: Whether it’s entering the gig economy or becoming a service worker, non-performance survival jobs are many an actor’s bread and butter. These may not seem immediately relevant to performing, but any job can be considered research. When that audition to play a service worker comes along, you’ll have insights that could just land you the gig.
While there is a lot of work out there, there are also a lot of actors. Competition is stiff, and there are a whole host of reasons why you might not book any given job. While acting gigs tend to be short-lived, lasting anywhere from a day to a few weeks, each gig you book is a victory. It is extremely rare as an actor to be working every week of the year, let alone every day, but constant hustling is part of an actor’s lifestyle. Unlike other jobs, where you put in a few years and steadily move up the corporate ladder as you gain qualifications and experience, acting can be a roller coaster. Even very established actors have dry spells. Understand that the life of an actor is unpredictable, and accept both the ebb and the flow.
Some types of jobs offer more long-term stability than others. Regional theater contracts pay a weekly rate for rehearsals and shows, and often provide an additional stipend or housing. Long-running Broadway shows offer performers the opportunity to be steadily employed, though schedules of eight performances a week can get exhausting and lead to burnout. TV offers perhaps the best opportunity for ongoing work—the dream is to land a series regular role on a pilot that gets picked up and runs for several years.
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Acting is an expensive business. And if you want to be a professional actor, you’ll have to be willing to invest in your career. Here are some non-negotiable career-related costs that you will have to factor into your budget:
- Headshots: $400 - $1,500
- Resume printing: $.25 - $5
- Personal website fees: ~$3 per month
- Casting website fees: ~$20/month
- Acting school and classes: $10,000 - $40,000 for school; $250 - $2,000 for classes
Of course, cost can and should factor into your process of shopping around for photographers and classes. Just remember that quality often correlates with higher prices. And since acting is heavily appearance-based, you may have to factor in regular grooming expenses (makeup, hairstyling), character-specific and audition-appropriate wardrobe items, and a gym membership. However, there is no shortage of free workshops and events, and it costs nothing to practice monologues and scenes on your own or with friends. Many acting schools also offer work/study or exchange programs.
These costs are one reason making a realistic budget is so important for a working actor. You may have to cut back in other areas of your life to support your career as an actor. Make a list of yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily costs. After essentials like rent and food, keep a tally of how much you can afford to spend on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, and always be sure to set aside some of your income for savings. Then make a tally of these non-negotiable expenses and factor in how much you can realistically afford to spend on each.
Actors are treated by the IRS as independent contractors, rather than employees of particular companies, which means you’ll have to file as such. Since your income will likely come from various sources, keep an organized file of each W-2 or 1099 you receive. (W-2s have taxes automatically taken out, while 1099s have taxes taken out later.) You can choose to do your taxes yourself, with a resource like TurboTax that can make the process easier. It’s equally valid to feel overwhelmed and want to save yourself the headache by hiring a professional.
To reduce your taxable income as an actor, there are certain expenses you can deduct, with the provision that they are necessary, reasonable, not excessive, and directly related to your acting career. Here’s a list of deductible expenses for actors (keep your receipts):
- Promotional expenses: headshots, website fees, subscription fees (including Backstage)
- Tickets to films, theater, and other research
- Transportation expenses going to and from jobs and auditions
- Union dues
- Agent fees
- Expenses incurred on the job
- A percentage of meals
- Insurance
If you want to make a living as an actor long-term, it’s a good idea to eventually join the union respective to the medium in which you want to work. SAG-AFTRA is the major union for film and TV actors, while theater actors should consider joining Actors’ Equity Association.
Why should you join a union? Being a member of a union entitles you to health insurance, pension and retirement plans, labor protections, minimum rates, job resources, career development, crisis support, and other benefits. Joining can also give you a leg up for future career prospects. SAG projects, especially commercials, pay much higher rates than nonunion projects, and Equity members get first dibs on sign ups for Equity Principal Auditions—which means you get an actual appointment time, instead of lining up at 7 a.m. and still risk not being seen.
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No matter how hard you hustle and how many jobs you book, you will inevitably find yourself in lulls without acting work. Even actors at the top of their game are subject to dry spells. It’s important to have a stable source of income outside of acting, so you don’t have to rely on the notorious unpredictability of booking jobs in order to pay your rent. You don’t want to walk into every audition room carrying the baggage of, “I need to book this job because my bank account is empty!” Financial stress can be a drain on your artistic energies. It’s hard to focus on telling a story and building a character if you’re distracted by anxiety about how you’re going to put food on the table.
Survival jobs keep you going while you pursue your true career. An ideal survival job is flexible enough to let you go on auditions (or one you can pick up in the interim between gigs if you have to leave for weeks at a time for shows); well-paying enough to cover your basic expenses (and a bit more to cover your acting expenses, allow you to save, and enjoy life); and ideally, provides the opportunity to do something you enjoy. Of course, you may not love it as much as acting, but you need to sustain yourself through the cycles of auditions and short-term gigs until you can make a full living as an actor. Remember: if you’re drained from dealing with rude customers all day, your art could suffer.
Being an actor is no doubt a difficult path. Above all, it’s an inner calling. Actors act for the love of telling stories, of sharing experiences and discovering new ones, of being able to connect with and inspire people. To be able to make a living while doing that is a blessing. If you want to make a living as an actor, you have to believe in yourself, keep going through the rough patches, continue to learn, and refuse to give up. Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
And if you haven’t yet been cast, check out Backstage's audition listings!