Anybody here familiar with Child Labor Laws as they apply to Hollywood actors? I need a little help researching this for a story I’m writing.
My character is a 17 year old TV actress, who is the star of her show. I know kids in Hollywood are only allowed to work so many hours a day, because of child labor laws.
My questions:
What would a typical day for this kid be like, in terms of how many hours she would be allowed to work? Would they do them all at once or break them up into bits?
Is there a sliding scale in terms of age? (Fifteen year olds can work longer than eight year olds?)
When is an actor considered an adult? What are the rules then?
I know these are some pretty broad questions. But I know we have some industry people on this site who could probably answer 'em. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Yes. I know that sometimes it is good for a kid to look younger than his/her age, because he/she can work longer hours. One of my friends worked on a sitcom (several years back) and one of the kids on the show looked like he was 8-10, but in fact he was 13-14, IIRC. My friend said this kid was headed for trouble - he’s in a TV show, hormones raging, but looking young and being small in stature…but I digress…
That’s all I know for sure, and I know my answer wasn’t too specific.
I did have a neighbor kid that was an actor for a while - I was asked to be his “adult companion” (or whatever you call it) when his mom couldn’t make it to a set. (I never did accompany the kid though - I guess his mom was always able to go with him.) Apparently these kids have to have an adult accompany them to work. I don’t know if this applies to 17 year-olds, though.
This link will make you squeal with glee: http://www.sag.org/youngpersons.html
Thank you thank you thank you!