Acting pay is unusually well documented, because almost all professional screen and stage work in the US happens under union contracts with published minimums. The gap between those minimums and the top of the market is the widest of any profession: the median actor earns $23.33 an hour per Bureau of Labor Statistics data (May 2024), while documented star deals clear $20 million per film. This guide walks the whole ladder, rung by rung, with the actual rates.
Want to price a specific acting year? Use our free Actor Salary Calculator with the 2025–26 union rates built in.
The union floor: what every professional job pays at minimum
| Work | Minimum rate | Contract |
|---|---|---|
| Film, day performer | $1,246 / day | SAG-AFTRA theatrical, Jul 2025 to Jun 2026 |
| Film, weekly performer | $4,326 / week | SAG-AFTRA theatrical, Jul 2025 to Jun 2026 |
| TV guest star, 1-hour episode | $10,965 / episode | SAG-AFTRA Television Agreement, major role |
| TV guest star, half-hour episode | $6,853 / episode | SAG-AFTRA Television Agreement, major role |
| Broadway performer | $2,717 / week | Equity production contract, from Sept 2025 |
| Daytime drama, day performer | $1,517 / episode | SAG-AFTRA Network Code, 60-minute serials |
| TV commercial, on-camera session | $822.30 / session | 2025 Commercials Contract (residuals extra) |
| Background actor | $224 / day | SAG-AFTRA background rate, Jul 2025 to Jun 2026 |
Employers also pay pension and health contributions of about 21% (20.5% for background) on top of these rates, which is how actors qualify for union health coverage.
How much do actors make per movie?
At scale, a supporting part shot over four weeks pays about $17,300. Recognizable working actors, the faces you know but can't name, negotiate two to five times scale plus better billing and per diems. Above them, salaries become individually negotiated deals that occasionally become public: $5.5 million for Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie reset the market in 1982, Bruce Willis took $5 million for Die Hard in 1988 when TV actors weren't supposed to earn film-lead money, and today's biggest names clear $20 million per picture with backend points on top. Our per-movie pay guide walks the whole ladder with every disclosed salary we track.
We keep a table of every disclosed film salary we can document and use it to model the undisclosed ones. You can see it working across the careers of Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp, payday by payday.
How much do TV actors make per episode?
The floor for a major role in an hour-long episode is $10,965. Series regulars on network shows negotiate per-episode fees in the tens of thousands, and hits change the math entirely: by their final seasons, the six Friends leads each earned a documented $1 million per episode, a number that still anchors every cast renegotiation since. Our Friends cast net worth breakdown follows where those paychecks went.
How much do SNL cast members make?
Saturday Night Live pays by seniority, per reported figures that cast members have largely confirmed over the years. Pete Davidson put the rookie rate at about $3,000 per episode. Reported scales rise to roughly $15,000 per episode around a fifth season, and the most tenured names reach about $25,000 per episode, or around $525,000 for a 21-episode season. The show's real financial value has always been what it leads to: film franchises, sitcoms, and hosting careers. The full seniority ladder is in our SNL pay breakdown.
How much do soap opera actors make?
Daytime serials pay per episode under the SAG-AFTRA Network Code, with the day-performer rate at $1,517 for hour-long shows. Trade coverage puts newer contract players at $1,000 to $1,500 per episode and established regulars at $3,000 to $5,000, with decade-plus veterans above that. The economics favor volume: a soap regular can tape 100+ episodes a year, which is why steady daytime work has quietly funded better retirements than many film careers. The per-episode and per-year math is in our soap opera pay guide.
How much do commercial actors make?
The on-camera session fee is $822.30 under the 2025 Commercials Contract, and the session is the smallest part. Residuals pay each time the spot airs, scaled to markets and usage, and a national campaign in heavy rotation multiplies the session fee many times over. A single national commercial that runs for a year can out-earn a co-star role in a film; our commercial pay guide covers holding fees and the usage classes.
How much do background actors make?
Background (extra) work pays $224 per day at the union rate, $234 with a special ability like driving a period car, and $262 for stand-in work. Overtime starts after 8 hours, at time and a half through the 10th hour and double time after that. It is the most accessible rung of the profession and, for a few hundred people in every production hub, a full-time living. Rates, bumps, and the union path are in our background actor pay guide.
Do actors get paid for reruns? How residuals work
Residuals are the profession's compounding machine. When a theatrical film reaches TV windows, SAG-AFTRA residuals pay the cast pool 3.6% of the distributor's gross receipts, divided by time and salary weights. TV reruns pay a declining percentage of the original episode fee per airing. Streaming pays fixed annual residuals, and the 2023 contract added a viewership bonus on the platforms' most-watched titles. This is why a hit that keeps re-airing matters more than a bigger one-time check, and why our net worth model carries a residuals lane for every actor we cover; our residuals explainer goes deeper, and the methodology page shows the exact rates.
What actually lands in the bank
Every figure above is gross. An agent takes up to 10% (the cap under SAG-AFTRA franchise rules), an entertainment attorney about 5%, a manager another 10% where one is used, and combined federal and state tax in California reaches about 45% at top incomes. A $100,000 acting year in Los Angeles becomes roughly $47,000 of take-home. The Actor Salary Calculator runs that full waterfall for any mix of work.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do actors make?
The median actor earns $23.33 an hour per BLS data (May 2024), and work is irregular. Union scale sets booked-day rates: $1,246 per day for film, $4,326 per week, $10,965 per major-role episode. Established names negotiate multiples of scale, and documented star deals run past $20 million per film.
How much do actors make per movie?
A scale supporting part over four weeks pays about $17,300 at 2025–26 rates. Working actors with credits negotiate two to five times scale. Star deals are individually negotiated, with documented paychecks from $1 million to over $20 million plus backend.
Do actors get paid for reruns?
Yes, through residuals. Films in TV windows pay the cast pool 3.6% of distributor gross receipts, TV reruns pay a declining share of the original fee per airing, and streaming pays fixed residuals plus a viewership bonus since 2023. Hits pay their casts for decades.
How much do background actors (extras) make?
$224 per day at the 2025–26 union rate, $234 for special-ability work, $262 for stand-ins, with overtime after 8 hours and a 20.5% employer pension and health contribution on top. Non-union background work generally pays less.