Paychecks from regular minor TV roles

Cafe Society
1

In the Most/Least Successful thread about former show casts, numerous people seem to have maintained a steady career of one-shot roles (L&O Victim of the Week, police officer in a sitcom episode, waiter, etc) without any sustained work in a single series. Some look like they’re doing maybe four to a half dozen or more spots a year. Actual speaking/acting roles, not just extras.

How viable is it to maintain a living this way? Not Hollywood celebrity living of course but can you make a career out of working with that frequency or do these people need to supplement their paychecks with other non-acting work?

2

For a thorough discussion of the life of the character actor, how they are paid, and what fees they have to pay out of that pay, I suggest the documentary That Guy… Who Was In That Thing, available streaming on Netflix.

The answer is, it isn’t a whole lot of money.

3

Thanks, I’ll have to check that out. Also thanks for the phrase “character actor” which I knew existed but didn’t know well enough to apply in my OP where it belonged.

4

“Character actor” is not the correct term for what you’re describing. You’re looking for “bit players.”

5

It could be either, though character actors are more likely to acquire and enduring role. Bit players can stay alive from their parts. They’ll have more appearances than you may realize, showing up on soap operas, commercials, movie bits, and pilots that never get aired. For a young actor sharing a home with other waitstaff they can get by. People trying to lead a middle class lifestyle need augmented income, which may be other jobs in the biz, a good way to pick up on leads for new roles. Producers and directors like the people who show up on time, know their lines, hit their marks, and don’t complain. They’ll get hired repeatedly on those qualities alone for a while.

6

For a bit player, it’s a mixture of TV, theater, commercials, and other acting work. Some eventually break through to minor roles; others drop out of the business, or move to a non-acting roles in the industry.

It’s enough to live on if you can manage to work regularly. That’s the tricky part. It’s more likely that acting is a part-time thing.

Charles Lane managed to get by for 30 years as a bit player/supporting actor on one shots before getting a recurring role. Burt Mustin worked for years that way, though he was probably getting social security when he turned to acting. I can’t think of a modern day example, but that’s only because that sort of actor is unobtrusive and you don’t see how busy they are until you look them up in the IMDB. But I’m sure there are many.

Off topic, my favorite actor who fits the description in the post title is J. Alan Thomas, who appeared in 100 episodes of Taxi and rarely said a word (he was Jeff, the guy in the cage with Louie.

7

You also need a certain amount of work to maintain your health insurance through the Screen Actors Guild.

8

I’ve noticed this board has an extremely loose definition of character actor.

9

What do you call an actor without a boyfriend/girlfriend? Homeless.

Actors all pretty much start off with feast or famine wages…the occasional good part that might pay a few thousand dollars, then nothing, then perhaps two or three parts in a month with $10,000 or more, then four months with nothing, etc.

Because of this, new/unknown actors have to budget tightly…they never know how long it might be until the next gig - if ever.

You will find even big name actors still have this mentality…many start to panic when they don’t get a film/TV series in six months or a year - even if they made a million or more on their last film, they still have the painful memories of being broke and living off nothing. Often this is why you might see a fairly well-known actor in some really crappy movie…they just get paranoid and can’t be all that picky. They too have mortgages and kids in school and car payments, etc.

I have read articles about actors who might be on a current hit show - maybe in their second or third season - who STILL live like they won’t have a paycheck tomorrow. They know if that series suddenly gets canceled, they might be up a creek for a long time and the memories are too fresh and painful for them to go out and buy a fancy house or expensive car. I think some of the cast of Friends mentioned it was only in their second or third season that they might have purchased a small condo or new car…still worried about not having enough a year later, should the show be dropped.

For that reason, most actors starting to make money get good accountants - perhaps investing in an apartment building or safe stock options or other real estate/safe investments. They know how fast you can fall in this business - no matter how high you get!

Acting is a fickle business…and while we can look at Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and the tons of money they rake in, there are others (hello Cuba Gooding Jr.) who might also have won an Oscar and are not exactly raking in the dough.

So - you can make a living, just as a steady but relatively unknown actor, but you have to learn to be thrifty and plan on those famines where nothing seems to come your way. This is also why many eventually toss in the towel and get day jobs and - well - sort of exit gracefully from the business.

And in show business, you also have to take into consideration age and beauty, along with luck…so you have all sorts of things going on that are out of your control. Is it any wonder that actors are a skittish bunch?

10

Is there any value in residuals (is that the right term?) for re-broadcasts and syndication? I’ve no idea if “County Coroner” from L&O Ep #112 gets anything past his initial paycheck. Do enough shows that enter syndication and maybe it becomes beer money for the month :smiley:

11

[QUOTE=RealityChuck ]
For a bit player, it’s a mixture of TV, theater, commercials, and other acting work. Some eventually break through to minor roles; others drop out of the business, or move to a non-acting roles in the industry.

[/QUOTE]

Sometimes you land a minor bit part as a Transit Cop in a major film like The Fugitive, but then end up as a hospital janitor.:smiley:
A coworker and I were just talking about this today. There are probably a shit-ton of actors who spend their entire career playing “dead body” on CSI: Miami, “Lannister Man-at-arms #3” on Game of Thrones, “Guy Throwing Frisbee” on Sunny D commercial, and “Ethnic Young Adult” on Verizon LG phone kiosk display.

12

Whenever a Broadway road show comes to town, there’s a rule: if they list any TV credits, at least one is for a version of “Law and Order.” The show requires a ton of actors for short scenes and any aspiring Broadway actor tries out for it.

13

Another guy who did a lot of bit work on one series was Robert L. McCord, who appeared in over 60 (out of 156) original “Twilight Zone” eps, mostly uncredited and non-speaking roles.

14

Ruth Cohen appeared in over 100 episodes of Seinfeld as the cashier at Monk’s. Mostly as an extra, but she had a speaking role in several episodes.