# why do actors make so much? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-actors-make-so-much/507097 "2009-08-20T17:30:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-actors-make-so-much/507097/81 "2009-08-24T13:44:40Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > Brett Farve will recieve $25,000,000.00 for 2 years with the Twins!! Vikings. Favre plays football. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-actors-make-so-much/507097/82 "2009-08-24T23:18:55Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > The problem is most actors arenā€™t especially good at it, so the fact that so few are good creates the ā€œacting is hardā€ statistic by default. Thatā€™s kind of a truism, isnā€™t it? lol. The very definition of ā€˜hard taskā€™ is statistical - that less people are able to do it. I mean, pattern recognition is an incredibly complex thing that computers canā€™t really do yet, yet pretty much all humans are capable of it so we donā€™t consider it a ā€˜hard taskā€™ to recognize an apple even though it involves an incredibly complex process. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > Apparently so. It still surprises me, because it doesnā€™t involve an innate talent, like singing or art or whatever - itā€™s just talking like normal. How hard can that be? Well Anthony Hopkins says his acting technique consists merely of reading the lines. Some of the trick to acting well is in not trying too hard obviously, or else it seems hammy and not naturalistic. And talking scenes arenā€™t that hard, assuming you have well written dialogue, and not overly complex or long lines. But when people think of good acting they arenā€™t usually referring to simple talking scenes. Conveying various emotions naturalistically is much harder to do naturalistically than simple dialogue. And then of course thereā€™s the non acting aspects like 16 hour days. > [@Cisco](#): > > Go spend some time on a few ultra-low or no-budget sets and your opinion will change so fast your head will spin Iā€™ve actually found that production values make a huge difference to the apparent quality of the acting. Bad production values can make good acting seem cheesy and unrealistic, and great production values can seriously upgrade mediocre acting. Take for example the recent Dollhouse series. While not the most critically acclaimed, it still had fairly decent acting. On the DVD set they have the original unaired pilot. Although edited, it had not been put through whatever process makes it look more like film than video, and so it had that ā€˜soap opera video cameraā€™ feel to it which really had a drastic affect on the overall engagingness. Iā€™ve also found that the writing has a huge impact. Well written dialogue can transform a mediocre player into a powerforce and a badly written script can turn an Oscar winner into a B movie cheese monster. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-actors-make-so-much/507097/83 "2009-08-25T00:58:56Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Iā€™ve actually found that production values make a huge difference to the apparent quality of the acting. Bad production values can make good acting seem cheesy and unrealistic, and great production values can seriously upgrade mediocre acting. Take for example the recent Dollhouse series. While not the most critically acclaimed, it still had fairly decent acting. On the DVD set they have the original unaired pilot. Although edited, it had not been put through whatever process makes it look more like film than video, and so it had that ā€˜soap opera video cameraā€™ feel to it which really had a drastic affect on the overall engagingness. > > Iā€™ve also found that the writing has a huge impact. Well written dialogue can transform a mediocre player into a powerforce and a badly written script can turn an Oscar winner into a B movie cheese monster. I agree completely, on both points. I meet (and have worked with) so many local directors who just donā€™t understand why their movie isnā€™t the next _Clerks_ or _Reservoir Dogs_ or whatever. They used a $35,000 camera and secured cool location shoots and utilized extras and sometimes even have cgi effects. I want to grab them by the shoulders, slam their forehead into mine, and scream through my foaming mouth YOUR SCRIPT READS LIKE A 3RD GRADER WROTE IT YOU FUCKING IMBECILE! ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-actors-make-so-much/507097/84 "2009-08-25T01:31:43Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Vikings. Favre plays football. šŸ˜ƒ Yes, you are right, I know it was the Vikings but wasnā€™t awake enough I guess. Thanks for pointing out the error. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-actors-make-so-much/507097.md?page=4)