You Want to Get Paid For Doing What?

“Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.”

–Franklin D. Roosevelt

The biggest distinction in the acting world made between one artist and another is that of the paid actor and the non-paid actor. The difference, for some strange reason, is all the difference. Actors have this fixation on the status that money can give us within our own careers. This preoccupation with money probably stems from hardly ever having any. But at any rate, actors are always quick to stipulate that they are paid. If you are not a paid actor, you’re just as quick to avoid the subject all together. So let’s address the questions of money and the actor. Should you hold out for paying roles? When should you start turning down roles that don’t pay? In other words, when do you get to graduate from being an “actor” to an Actor?

The simplest answer to when you should start holding out for exclusively paying roles is to pay close attention to your résumé. When you’ve got a resume that’s chock full of non-paying roles, and not just any roles but really juicy, leading roles, it’s time to try for something better. Start thinking of your career in stages:

Stage 1: Begins when you first start out. You have no resume, no headshots, no contacts. Nothing. You’re a beginner, eager to learn and ready to hit any stage running (a mindset you’ll always want to have). At this point in your career, your biggest concern is getting a role at all. This is the Foot-in-the-Door period. You don’t care if the parts you get are paying or even human, you take any part available.

Stage 2: In this stage you get some headshots and type up a resume. The resume getting pretty full and you’re fairly confident now. You know what you can do, but you’re no longer interested in parts that don’t offer you something. You crave the roles that let you play anything you haven’t tried before. You’re a bit more discerning in your auditioning, but still not confident enough to turn down a role.

Stage 3: You’re working steadily, but still not getting paid. Your resume is overflowing with great parts, and maybe you’ve even landed yourself an agent by now. You’re ready to move up and become one of the big boys.

Stage 4: Graduation day has arrived. There’s not much the non-paying world can offer you. You’re ready to go out there and become a working actor, paid for your services and kicking up your heels now that you can finally change those business cards to read: Daniel Roach, ACTOR.

If you’re at Stage 3 it’s time to start being more discerning about what parts you accept. By that stage your resume is healthy and standing on its own, it doesn’t need another non-paying role; no more community theatre, it’s ready to order of the adult menu. This doesn’t mean you can’t audition for community theatre; it’s always a fun something to do between paying gigs, but that shouldn’t be your main bread and butter anymore. This also begs the question, should you include these further stints into community theatre on your resume? But that’s a subject for another time.

So once you’ve decided to become a paid actor, how much should you get paid? How much is being an actor worth? This question is really easy to answer: If you’re just crossing over into Stage 4 the answer is anything they’re willing to pay you! If they pay you twenty dollars a performance, take it! Don’t quit your day job yet, but take the money anyway. Each stage must be tackled individually and you have to remember that you’ll be starting over from scratch in many ways. You can start picking and choosing the non-paying roles you want in Stage 3, but there’s no pickiness about paying roles in Stage 4. You’re not in a position at this point to negotiate or “hold out for something better.” Work your way up to the point where you can have a “going rate,” then you can turn down paying roles.

The changeover between Stages 3 and 4 will be a sneaky one. It will simply happen one day while you look at your resume. With a sudden burst of courage and pride you’ll decide that your next role will be paying. Make sure when that day happens that you stick to your decision. Don’t back down from it. Never take a step backward, unless it’s so you can begin to run forward.

The important thing is not to be afraid of going out on the paying limb. Don’t be afraid of turning down parts that don’t pay you. You’ve got to break through that terror barrier and be willing to let yourself be good enough. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you’re not “good enough” to be paid for your work. That’s a lie you tell yourself so you can stay in your comfort zone. Get out of that comfort zone, you are good enough to earn your living doing what you love. There will be no shortage of people telling you that you can’t make a living being an actor, but I tell you that you can.

Decide that you are good enough to get what you want and have the courage to receive what you ask for. Start living the life you want to live. There will never be a better time to go out and Sin Boldly!

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