# How much do "dead" actors make?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-dead-actors-make/580266>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 30, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-dead-actors-make/580266 "2011-04-30T06:03:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-dead-actors-make/580266/1 "2011-04-30T06:03:26Z")

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Let me explain what I mean.

Episodes of Law & Order (and I imagine other crime dramas) frequently begin with a shot of a dead murder victim. Assuming these are real actors pretending to be corpses and not wax statues, what do they typically pay someone for this (brief) acting role?

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**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-dead-actors-make/580266/2 "2011-04-30T06:07:57Z")

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Since they don’t have any lines, I believe they would be paid as extras. (Meaning like $40 for the whole day.)

The real breakthrough is to get one of the two-line jobbers in the cold-open. Then you get union scale.

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**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-dead-actors-make/580266/3 "2011-04-30T17:25:31Z")

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In many of those crime dramas, sets will be dressed with pictures of the victim from before their death. Do they get paid extra for those? They would have had to change costume and get photographed, possibly multiple times depending on how elaborate the set dressing is.

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**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\
**Post date:** [April 30, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-dead-actors-make/580266/4 "2011-04-30T22:01:59Z")

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O

> [@Ponderoid](#):
>
> In many of those crime dramas, sets will be dressed with pictures of the victim from before their death. Do they get paid extra for those? They would have had to change costume and get photographed, possibly multiple times depending on how elaborate the set dressing is.

I think with enough headshots of the actor playing the victim, they can photoshop him or her into the photos you’re referring to.

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**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-dead-actors-make/580266/5 "2011-05-01T00:17:05Z")

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Here is your answer. It is at $139 a day with the possibility for more.

> **[TV Corpses Are Actors, Too - Slideshow - Vulture](https://www.vulture.com/2011/02/playing_a_corpse_on_tv.html)**
>
> But they don't get no respect. View the Slideshow.

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**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-dead-actors-make/580266/6 "2011-05-01T00:43:24Z")

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> [@11811](#):
>
> O
> 
> I think with enough headshots of the actor playing the victim, they can photoshop him or her into the photos you’re referring to.

Depending on how much they pay the graphics people it may be cheaper just to take the photos…