# What do B-List movie actors do to get by? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 8, 2008, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946 "2008-10-08T02:38:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/21 "2008-10-08T17:40:16Z")
> [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](#): > > Agreed. > For instance, Gary Sandy played Andy Travis in WKRP in Cincinnati. According to imdb, he’s worked in TV/movies sporadically the last few years (1999, 2000, a couple of credits in 2001, nothing til 2004, which was the latest credit listed), but I know (no cite) he’s performed in a lot of plays over the years. He lives (lived at least) outside of Louisville Kentucky, and has been written up in newspapers over the years in the Louisville/Cincinnati/Indianapolis area from time to time, and they always mentioned a play he was in. I live in this area and had never heard this. A little Googling revealed that Sandy actually lives in Cynthiana, Ky which is closer to Lexington. Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/22 "2008-10-08T17:54:47Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Does anyone know that site that profiled B/character actors? Those faces you see everywhere but don’t know their name? Is it this? [http://www.fametracker.com/hey\_its\_that\_guy/](http://www.fametracker.com/hey_its_that_guy/) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/23 "2008-10-08T18:02:44Z")
[Here’s another](http://www.dougmacaulay.com/kingspud/sel_by_actor_index_1.php) ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/24 "2008-10-08T18:09:34Z")
You take this home, throw in it a pot with some broth and a potato, and baby, you got a stew going. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/25 "2008-10-08T19:45:53Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Thank you for the Forbes article; that was interesting. So Richard Herd gets $39 every time a particular episode of M_A_S\*H is broadcast on a local station. That may not seem like a lot, but it’s not bad, and presumably the bigger stars get bigger residual checks. I wonder what’s the cost for broadcasting that episode? Here’s how residuals work, in brief. I suspect the SAG website has full information. Residuals depend on the number of people seeing the episode, on how many times the episode has run, and your pay for the episode. You get residuals for commercials also, btw. My daughter got union scale for four episodes of a show on basic cable, but probably cleared $10K in residuals for it. (It reran all the time.) She wasn’t the star by any means, but she was a lead and her name was in big letters on the credits. So, it doesn’t matter that much where you are in the cast - if you get lots of jobs on union shows, you’ll do fine. Those who suffer are working in non-union stuff, or who don’t get a lot of work. BTW, extras don’t get residuals, and often don’t get treated all that well on the set. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/26 "2008-10-08T19:55:12Z")
Danny Trejo huh. Never knew that guy’s name. I always referred to him as “Generic Mexican Bad Guy #2”. Learned something new today. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/27 "2008-10-08T20:13:28Z")
Thanks for the sites – they’re really close, but I don’t think that’s what I saw. The layout was thumbnail-based. That is, if you only know someone visually, a list of names isn’t really helpful. Fametracker seems familiar though; perhaps they had to take photographs down for licensing reasons? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/28 "2008-10-08T20:24:55Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > He only got a quarter million for working on LOTR? That’s terrible. For 3 - 4 years of work? Danny Trejo is in like a shitload of movies. He has like at least ten credits a year. I’m sure he makes ends meet. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/29 "2008-10-08T20:59:37Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > For 3 - 4 years of work?.. The Lord of the Rings movies were filmed back-to-back in New Zealand over the course of one year. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/30 "2008-10-08T21:05:33Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Among the people made homeless by the destruction of the building were several cast members of a popular (at the time) TV show. They weren’t the leads, but they were definitely a major part of the show, and were household names. Even in L.A., without knowing how the industry works, people tend to assume that anyone they see regularly on a TV show is a so-called ‘star’ on some level, and would have a more stylish house than a Northridge apartment. On the other hand, for many people it’s not what you have on the outside, but how you’re set up indoors that counts, in terms of one’s material lifestyle. Additionally several major studios are on that side of the hill, including NBC in Burbank, so it makes sense to a lot of actors, and studio people generally, to live out that way. Tommy Tedesco, perhaps the top studio guitarist in L.A. until 1992 when health issues forced him to quit, lived in Northridge as well. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/31 "2008-10-08T21:20:06Z")
Dude, my cousin voiced a major character in a Disney release a little while back. I don’t know if he’s in SAG or not. He made $100,000 for 50 days work. Don’t know if he’s getting anything on the back end off of video game sales or DVDs. He was 16 years old when he did this. You have never heard of him. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/32 "2008-10-08T21:25:07Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > The Lord of the Rings movies were filmed back-to-back in New Zealand over the course of one year. About a year and a half, IIRC, and they filmed some extra scenes after principal shooting. Sean et al. didn’t make a bad chunk of change, but it was a pittance compared to what the movies made at the box office. **Rhythmdvl** , I had the same thought about those websites. You have to recognize a name to click on it and only then can you say, “Hey, it’s that guy!” But you wouldn’t even be visiting the website if you knew who it was. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/33 "2008-10-08T21:37:27Z")
But did Sean Astin only get $250,000 for the LOTR movies, or did he get more for rights to have his picture on merchandise and so forth? Because I do agree that it seems like a tiny amount compared to the billions that the movies made overall. Although it is the sort of role that can lead to lots of others for an actor. And presumably he could make some more money if he wants to appear at conventions. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946/34 "2008-10-09T02:34:31Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > ISTR reading an article in Time or a similar magazine about some apartment building destroyed by the Northridge earthquake. The building looked (in “before” shots) solidly lower-middle class to my eye, not unlike what I’d find here in Springfield housing people who worked third-shift, barely-above-minimum-wage jobs. > > Among the people made homeless by the destruction of the building were several cast members of a popular (at the time) TV show. They weren’t the leads, but they were definitely a major part of the show, and were household names. > > This article led me to believe one of two things (probably both): > > 1. What looks like a low-rent apartment building in Springfield isn’t necessarily low-rent in LA. > 2. Non-lead actors in a TV series, even a popular one, don’t make much money. It depends on the timing and the deals the actors and their agents were able to negotiate. New actors in particular may not have the leverage to make much more than scale (the lowest pay rate the Screen Actor’s Guild will allow). When a show is starting out, the showrunner (head writer-executive producer) and the production company have way more power than the actors, unless the actors are already stars. As the show becomes more popular, the actors gain power, because the viewers have come to expect the familiar cast, and the show might not work without them. Things can get verrry interesting at this point. Temper tantrums, drug use, arriving an hour after their call time, fights with other cast members, you name it. People who were waiting tables and sweating the rent on their rathole apartments can go nuts when they suddenly have more money than god, and everyone wants to kiss their ass. On a bon fide hit, actors can and do negotiate episode fees up to a million dollars an episode. No fooling. Also, make work jobs for family, friends, and lovers. Who’s that unbearably cute but slack jawed young guy who always seems to be hanging out in the “happily married family man”'s trailer? Don’t ask. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-b-list-movie-actors-do-to-get-by/466946.md?page=1)