Background actors working under SAG-AFTRA earn $224 per day at the 2025-26 rate, the equivalent of $28 an hour for general background work. Special ability background pays $234 a day, and photo doubles and stand-ins pay $262 a day. Overtime applies after eight hours, and a long shoot day regularly pushes a background actor's pay past $300. The rate is set annually and applies across film, television, and streaming productions signed to SAG-AFTRA.
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The 2025-26 SAG-AFTRA background rates
| Role | Daily rate | Hourly equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| General background | $224 / day | $28 / hour |
| Special ability background | $234 / day | $29.25 / hour |
| Photo double / stand-in | $262 / day | $32.75 / hour |
These are the rates effective July 2025 through June 2026 under the SAG-AFTRA agreement, and they reset again the following year under the same contract cycle.
How overtime works
The first eight hours pay straight time. Hours nine and ten pay time and a half, and hours eleven through fifteen pay double time. Run the math on a general background rate of $28 an hour: eight hours straight time is $224, two hours at time and a half adds $84, and two more hours at double time adds $112. A 12-hour day, common on a full production schedule, comes to $420 before any bumps are added. Long shoot days are the norm rather than the exception, so overtime regularly pushes a background actor's day rate well past $300.
The pension and health contribution
Employers pay a 20.5% pension and health contribution on top of the day rate, not deducted from it. That money never touches the performer's paycheck directly, but it is what makes background work count toward union health coverage. Enough days worked in a period builds up the earnings threshold needed to qualify, so background bookings function as more than a day rate. They are also hours toward benefits that a single freelance gig would not otherwise provide.
Bumps that add to the day rate
Specific asks on set add pay on top of the base rate: providing a period car, working in smoke or rain, wearing body makeup, or bringing particular wardrobe pieces the production needs. Each bump is its own line item, added to the base rate rather than folded into it, and a background actor who owns a usable vehicle or a distinctive wardrobe piece can pick up several of these on the same day.
Union versus non-union
Non-union background work generally pays less, often close to local minimum wage plus a flat day rate, with no pension or health contribution attached. There is no overtime structure guaranteed the way there is under SAG-AFTRA, and no bump system standardized across productions. Non-union extras can earn SAG-AFTRA eligibility through union vouchers picked up on set, the standard path into the union for people who start working background before they are eligible to join. Enough vouchers collected over time convert into union membership, at which point the day rates in the table above apply.
What decides the income
Booking density decides how much a background actor actually earns in a year, far more than the rate on any single day does. A few hundred people in each production hub work background full time, stringing together enough bookings across enough productions to make it a primary income. For most people who do it, the pay is supplemental income alongside another job, a few days a month rather than a full schedule. The median actor earns $23.33 an hour per BLS data from May 2024, and a union background rate of $28 an hour sits just above that median, before the overtime and bumps that push a real shoot day higher. The gap between a supplemental extra and a full-time one is booking volume, not the rate card, which is identical for both.
Do extras get residuals?
No. Standard background work does not earn residuals, regardless of how many times an episode or film reruns or streams afterward. An upgraded speaking role does, and that upgrade changes the entire booking, turning a flat day rate into a role that can pay for years after the shoot through the same residual system that covers principal performers. That single distinction, background versus speaking role, separates two very different pay structures inside the same day of shooting. See our full breakdown of how actor residuals work for what a speaking role earns when a show reruns or streams.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do background actors make per day?
$224 per day for general background at the 2025-26 SAG-AFTRA rate, $234 for special ability background, and $262 for photo doubles and stand-ins. Overtime after eight hours regularly pushes a full day past $300.
Do extras get residuals?
No, unless the role is upgraded to a speaking part on set. Standard background work pays a day rate only, with no residual income attached.
How do you become a SAG-AFTRA background actor?
Most background actors start non-union, earning eligibility through union vouchers picked up on set. Enough vouchers over time make an actor eligible to join SAG-AFTRA.
How much do stand-ins make?
$262 per day at the 2025-26 SAG-AFTRA rate, the same tier as photo doubles, both paid above the general background rate.