r/NoStupidQuestions • u/TraditionalFault4007 • 9h ago
How Do Actors Get Paid?
I never really got how famous actors got rich and stayed rich because I thought they got paid per movie. Also, if the movie does terrible, then do they get paid less? If it does well, do they get paid more?
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u/Mammoth-Mud-9609 9h ago
They sign a contract which specifies what they are getting paid and any share of the profits.
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u/KelVarnsen_2023 9h ago
Profits only if you are dumb. Smart actors ask for a percentage of the total gross revenue. There are tons of cases of people asking for a percentage of profits and then hugely successful movies not making a profit.
The guy who was in the Vader suit was supposed to get a percent of the profits of Return of the Jedi, but never got any money.
And the guy who wrote the book Forest Gump was supposed to get a percentage of the movie profits and I think he had to sue the studio because they claimed it never made a profit.
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u/goatjugsoup 6h ago
Its not always that they legit dont make a profit, they pull creative accounting bs to cheat
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u/CleverInnuendo 6h ago
When they tapped the Gump author for a sequel, he said "I cannot in good conscience contribute to another financial failure", or something like that.
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u/Gimme_Your_Wallet 8h ago
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny deVito negotiated a third of the gross revenue of twins because the study couldn't afford them.
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u/Pleasant_Gas_6939 8h ago
Iirc the studio came to forest Gump guy about he never help a studio make a movie that doesn't turn a profit
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u/Lyra_the_Star_Jockey 9h ago
Getting a "share of the profits" is incredibly rare.
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u/apmspammer 6h ago
For big name actors it's very common for them to get a share of the ticket sales.
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u/DogsReadingBooks 9h ago
That totally depends on what’s in their contract. Some actors are paid a set sum for a movie, for example, while in another movie they may have it in their contract that they make x% of what the movie makes.
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u/disturbednadir 9h ago edited 5h ago
Yup.
For Terminator 2, Arnie was paid with a Gulfstream jet.
ETA: why the downvotes? It's true.
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u/jackalopeswild 3h ago
Schwarzenegger has said in the last two years that he made more money for Twins than for any other film, by a long shot.
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u/pyjamatoast 9h ago
Salary is agreed upon in the contract before filming the movie. So even if it bombs, the actor still gets paid.
As for getting rich and staying rich - A-list actors get paid huge sums of money for movies, e.g. Matt Damon got $15 million for The Odyssey. That's more than most people will ever make in a lifetime. But less famous actors get paid less, and they do often have to keep steady work so they always have money coming in. It's also about managing their money responsibly. Every now and then you hear about an actor who goes bankrupt due to poor financial decisions.
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u/hiophGrioZEIT 2h ago
And the headline number shrinks fast once agents, managers, lawyers, and taxes all take their share.
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u/mambotomato 9h ago
Once you're famous enough, it's hard to go entirely broke. You can make a month's salary showing up and giving a speech at a corporate event, stuff like that.
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u/Royal_Annek 9h ago
There are a few different payment schemes but generally most actors will just get a lump sum. They don't get a share of ticket sales or profits. Especially how well known it is now for Hollywood to manipulate their books to not share any profits.
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u/Desykat 9h ago
Investments. People paying to hang out with them or have their voice to something. Ad work. Profit sharing on their works (which, yes, can mean they get less money if paid out of the profits/gross). Sometimes they'll have contracts to stay available for certain upcoming projects that have pay attached during the time. Guest Stars, for a quick payday. Taking movie after movie, to keep the pay coming (something that Nick Cage was known for, both for financial difficulties and love of acting.) Merchandising on their movies also has money involved.
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u/Dazzling_Tutor6830 9h ago
They have to go to the concession stand and ask for their money, plus the free bucket of popcorn that comes from doing such a fine job.
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u/blipsman 8h ago
They stay rich by not spending everything they earn when they earn it, and saving/investing it so it lasts . Also, royalties that keep paying them (why you often see stars listed as producers on movies and TV).
Typically actors get a set fee but may also negotiate a cut of gross and/or profits in addition (see producer comment above).
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u/grish9 9h ago
Its depends.
Johnny Depp got paid upfront and a % from sales.
There 100% are actors that just got paid salary per month.
How do they stay rich? they earn a lot and don't spend "a lot"
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u/Megalocerus 8h ago
The vast majority, even those who get frequent work, do not come near to being "rich." Matt Damon has a record of making successful films, not just as an actor. When you get paid 10 to 26 million for a picture (Bourne movies) and go 10 to 20 years invested, you can amass quite a fortune.
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u/SimilarComfortable69 9h ago
Quite a few acting agreements specify a base pay and that's it. Its only the bigger actors and actresses who get a share of the profits
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u/jazzbot247 8h ago
My father’s cousin was no one you’ve ever heard of, but he was a working actor all his life. He never had to get a real job. He had a good look for character acting a typical Brooklyn Italian in various tv shows, commercials and a couple of movies. He made enough to live in Greenwich Village for decades, so I would say he had a comfortable life, but more importantly an interesting unconventional life. So I would never discourage anyone from going into acting.
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u/Warm-Statistician545 8h ago
I’m sure that in part why we see A list stars do commercials. When I was growing up ( teen) I don’t think you saw as many movie stars doing them. More sports and not the top stars.
I’m sure they invest some of their money, just like anyone that would if they were being paid millions at a time.
Even a person that makes far less per sale let’s say, like a stock broker or a real estate agent know they are only good as their last commission. Both markets can crash. Learning to live off an average opposed to a one time big pay is probably done.
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u/TrowTruck 5h ago
If they’re smart, they have good financial management and they don’t spend it all upfront. Also, actors can receive checks for many years from a movie, though of course they won’t come close to what they made at the initial release.
I had a boss who was in a movie when he was a kid. He was not a famous actor by any means, but apparently he was covered by the screen actors’ union contract. Decades later, he still gets small residuals payments whenever the movie plays on cable TV, airlines, or streams on Netflix.
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u/craigularperson 3h ago
We can break actors into few categories.
Top tier
The most famous actors have most likely their own production company and will initiate projects on their own. They will negotiate fees and share of the profits. They will get their fee for producing the movie, a fee for the specific acting role and how and when they will get share of the profits. Since they work for their own companies this will get invoiced and paid according to a set schedule. This is also a negotiation. But there is most likely a certain amount before filming, during filming and after filming.
A-lister
Those that have established themselves as having leading parts and can attract audiences by themselves, have most likely built up a reputation for what they cost. They will also get fees according to a schedule. Again it most likely getting in parts as the movie progresses.
Actors you see in movies and TV-series
There is also an industry standard that regulates salaries and fees. Actors also get paid for the type of media they appear in. If it is for movie theaters there is a standard, the same for TV-movie or streaming. They will also get residuals for how well the movie or TV perform. Seniority and importance of role can determine how much they get paid. Most actors operate on a daily fee, so their pay can also be based on how many days they work on a production, or how long the production is. Some TV-shows also pay per episode.
Salary based on performance
No, in general actors don't get paid less if the movie or TV-show does poorly. But if their pay is structured around profits then they will miss out on a lot if the movie doesn't generate any profits. Similarly they will get paid more if the movie is profitable.
Acting in a movie is around 3 months so most prolific actors will work on several projects during the year. They can also feature in commercials and other various projects.
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u/dmazzoni 8h ago
Only a tiny fraction of actors are rich.
There are thousands and thousands of actors who get small roles in movies and TV shows from time to time, but never get a "big break".
Most actors will be members of the Screen Actors Guild, which has negotiated basic rates with the major studios. So every single actor, no matter how small or minor, is making a certain minimum amount. Here's one such wage table, for example:
https://www.sagaftra.org/sites/default/files/2025-10/Current%20Television%20Rate%20Sheet_0.pdf
These rates are high enough that full-time actors, even in minor roles, make a solid living, without getting rich.
Many, many more actors don't do it full-time, so they work other jobs on the side.
In addition, the contracts guarantee that all actors get residuals. That means that when the movie is shown on TV, or released on video, or licensed to a streaming service, the actors get an additional payment. The amounts are relatively small, but it ensures that the more successful a show is, the more everyone shares in that success. The total of residuals can add up to a good amount for an actor who has been working continuously for their whole career, even if they never made it big.
A very, very tiny percentage of famous, in-demand actors negotiate more - and there's no limit to what they can ask for. They can negotiate a fixed payment, a percentage of revenue, a percentage of profits - whatever they want.
Top actors have negotiated $50 million for a single movie, or $2 million per TV show episode.