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Actors, Producers, and Directors
- Nature of the Work
- Working Conditions
- Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement
- Employment
- Job Outlook
- Earnings
Significant Points
- Actors endure long periods of unemployment, intense competition for roles, and frequent rejections in auditions.
- Formal training through a university or acting conservatory is typical; however, many actors, producers, and directors find work on the basis of their experience and talent alone.
- Because earnings for actors are erratic, many supplement their incomes by holding jobs in other fields.
Actors, producers, and directors express ideas and create images in theater, film, radio, television, and
other performing arts media. They interpret a writer’s script to entertain, inform, or instruct an audience.
Although the most famous actors, producers, and directors work in film, network television, or theater in
New York or Los Angeles, far more work in local or regional television studios, theaters, or film production
companies preparing advertising, public-relations, or independent, small-scale movie productions.
Actors perform in stage, radio, television, video, or motion picture productions. They also work
in cabarets, nightclubs, theme parks, commercials, and “industrial” films produced for training and educational
purposes. Most actors struggle to find steady work; only a few ever achieve recognition as stars.
Some well-known, experienced performers may be cast in supporting roles. Others work as “extras,” with no
lines to deliver, or make brief, cameo appearances, speaking only one or two lines. Some actors do voiceover
and narration work for advertisements, animated features, books on tape, and other electronic media, including
computer games. They also teach in high school or university drama departments, acting conservatories, or public programs.
Producers are entrepreneurs, overseeing the business and financial decisions of a motion picture,
made-for-television feature, or stage production. They select scripts, approve the development of ideas for
the production, arrange financing, and determine the size and cost of the endeavor. Producers hire or
approve the selection of directors, principal cast members, and key production staff members. They also
negotiate contracts with artistic and design personnel in accordance with collective bargaining agreements
and guarantee payment of salaries, rent, and other expenses. Television and radio producers determine which
programs, episodes, or news segments get aired. They may research material, write scripts, and oversee the
production of individual pieces. Producers in any medium coordinate the activities of writers, directors,
managers, and agents to ensure that each project stays on schedule and within budget.
Directors are responsible for the creative decisions of a production. They interpret scripts, express
concepts to set and costume designers, audition and select cast members, conduct rehearsals, and direct the work of cast and crew.
They approve the design elements of a production, including the sets, costumes, choreography, and music.
Assistant directors cue the performers and technicians to make entrances or to make light, sound, or set changes.
Actors, producers, and directors work under constant pressure. Many face stress from the continual
need to find their next job. To succeed, actors, producers, and directors need patience and commitment
to their craft. Actors strive to deliver flawless performances, often while working under undesirable
and unpleasant conditions. Producers and directors organize rehearsals and meet with writers, designers,
financial backers, and production technicians. They experience stress not only from these activities,
but also from the need to adhere to budgets, union work rules, and production schedules.
Acting assignments typically are short term ranging from 1 day to a few months which
means that actors frequently experience long periods of unemployment between jobs. The uncertain
nature of the work results in unpredictable earnings and intense competition for even the lowest-paid jobs.
Often, actors, producers, and directors must hold other jobs in order to sustain a living.
When performing, actors typically work long, irregular hours. For example, stage actors may perform one
show at night while rehearsing another during the day. They also might travel with a show when it
tours the country. Movie actors may work on location, sometimes under adverse weather conditions,
and may spend considerable time in their trailers or dressing rooms waiting to perform their scenes.
Actors who perform in a television series often appear on camera with little preparation time, because
scripts tend to be revised frequently or even written moments before taping. Those who appear live or
before a studio audience must be able to handle impromptu situations and calmly ad lib, or substitute, lines when necessary.
Evening and weekend work is a regular part of a stage actor’s life. On weekends, more than one
performance may be held per day. Actors and directors working on movies or television programs especially
those who shoot on location may work in the early morning or late evening hours to film night
scenes or tape scenes inside public facilities outside of normal business hours.
Actors should be in good physical condition and have the necessary stamina and coordination to move
about theater stages and large movie and television studio lots. They also need to maneuver about
complex technical sets while staying in character and projecting their voices audibly. Actors must
be fit to endure heat from stage or studio lights and the weight of heavy costumes. Producers and
directors ensure the safety of actors by conducting extra rehearsals on the set so that the actors
can learn the layout of set pieces and props, by allowing time for warmups and stretching exercises
to guard against physical and vocal injuries, and by providing an adequate number of breaks to
prevent heat exhaustion and dehydration.
Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement
Persons who become actors, producers, and directors follow many paths. Employers generally
look for people with the creative instincts, innate talent, and intellectual capacity to perform.
Actors should possess a passion for performing and enjoy entertaining others. Most aspiring
actors participate in high school and college plays, work in college radio stations, or
perform with local community theater groups. Local and regional theater experience and work
in summer stock, on cruise lines, or in theme parks helps many young actors hone their skills
and earn qualifying credits toward membership in one of the actors’ unions. Union membership
and work experience in smaller communities may lead to work in larger cities, notably New York
or Los Angeles. In television and film, actors and directors typically start in smaller
television markets or with independent movie production companies and then work their way
up to larger media markets and major studio productions. Intense competition, however, can
be expected at each level, because ever more applicants will be vying for increasingly fewer
numbers of available positions.
Formal dramatic training, either through an acting conservatory or a university program,
generally is necessary, but some people successfully enter the field without it. Most people
studying for a bachelor’s degree take courses in radio and television broadcasting,
communications, film, theater, drama, or dramatic literature. Many continue their academic
training and receive a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree. Advanced curricula may include
courses in stage speech and movement, directing, playwriting, and design, as well as intensive
acting workshops. The National Association of Schools of Theatre accredits 135 programs in
theater arts. A few people go into acting following successful careers in other fields,
such as broadcasting or announcing.
Actors, regardless of experience level, may pursue workshop training through acting
conservatories or mentoring by a drama coach. Actors also research roles so that they can
grasp concepts quickly during rehearsals and understand the story’s setting and background.
Sometimes actors learn a foreign language or train with a dialect coach to develop an accent
to make their characters more realistic.
Actors need talent, creativity, and training that will enable them to portray different
characters. Because competition for parts is fierce, versatility and a wide range of related
performance skills, such as singing, dancing, skating, juggling, or miming are especially useful.
Experience in horseback riding, fencing, or stage combat also can lift some actors above the
average and get them noticed by producers and directors. Actors must have poise, stage
presence, the capability to affect an audience, and the ability to follow direction.
Modeling experience also may be helpful. Physical appearance, such as possessing the right
size, weight, or features, often is a deciding factor in being selected for particular roles.
Many professional actors rely on agents or managers to find work, negotiate contracts, and
plan their careers. Agents generally earn a percentage of the pay specified in an actor’s
contract. Other actors rely solely on attending open auditions for parts.
Trade publications list the times, dates, and locations of these auditions.
To become a movie extra, one usually must be listed by a casting agency, such as Central
Casting, a no-fee agency that supplies extras to the major movie studios in Hollywood.
Applicants are accepted only when the numbers of persons of a particular type on the list for example,
athletic young women, old men, or small children falls below the foreseeable need. In recent
years, only a very small proportion of applicants have succeeded in being listed.
There are no specific training requirements for producers. They come from many different
backgrounds. Talent, experience, and business acumen are important determinants of success for
producers. Actors, writers, film editors, and business managers commonly enter the field.
Also, many people who start out as actors move into directing, while some directors might
try their hand at acting. Producers often start in a theatrical management office, working
for a press agent, managing director, or business manager. Some start in a performing arts
union or service organization. Others work behind the scenes with successful directors, serve
on boards of directors, or promote their own projects. No formal training exists for producers;
however, a growing number of colleges and universities now offer degree programs in arts
management and in managing nonprofits.
As the reputations and box-office draw of actors, producers, and directors grow, they might
work on bigger budget productions, on network or syndicated broadcasts, or in more prestigious
theaters. Actors may advance to lead roles and receive star billing. A few actors move into
acting-related jobs, such as drama coaches or directors of stage, television, radio, or motion
picture productions. Some teach drama privately or in colleges and universities.
In 2004, actors, producers, and directors held about 157,000 jobs, primarily in motion
picture and video, performing arts, and broadcast industries. Because many others were
between jobs, the total number of actors, producers, and directors available for work was
higher. Employment in the theater, and other performing arts companies, is cyclical higher
in the fall and spring seasons and concentrated in New York and other major cities with
large commercial houses for musicals and touring productions. Also, many cities support
established professional regional theaters that operate on a seasonal or year-round basis.
About one-fourth of actors, producers, and directors were self-employed.
Actors, producers, and directors may find work in summer festivals, on cruise lines, and
in theme parks. Many smaller, nonprofit professional companies, such as repertory companies,
dinner theaters, and theaters affiliated with drama schools, acting conservatories, and
universities, provide employment opportunities for local amateur talent and professional
entertainers. Auditions typically are held in New York for many productions across
the country and for shows that go on the road.
Employment in motion pictures and in films for television is centered in New York and
Hollywood. However, small studios are located throughout the country. Many films are shot
on location and may employ local professional and nonprofessional actors. In television,
opportunities are concentrated in the network centers of New York and Los Angeles, but
cable television services and local television stations around the country also employ
many actors, producers, and directors.
A growing number of actors and other entertainers appear on the payrolls of firms who
do accounting and payroll work. Frequently film production companies will hire actors
through casting agencies or contract out their payroll services to accounting firms.
Similarly, many actors arrange with a company in this industry to collect their pay from
producers or entrepreneurs; make the appropriate deductions for taxes, union dues, and
benefits payments; and pay them their net earnings for each job. The result of these
increasingly more common payroll arrangements is that many actors appear to be working
for accounting offices, rather than for the theatrical production companies or studios
where they actually perform.
Employment of actors, producers, and directors is expected to
grow about as fast as the average for all occupations
through 2014. Although a growing number of people will aspire to enter these professions,
many will leave the field early because the work when it is available is hard,
the hours are long, and the pay is low. Competition for jobs will be stiff, in part
because the large number of highly trained and talented actors auditioning for roles
generally exceeds the number of parts that become available. Only performers with the
most stamina and talent will find regular employment.
Expanding cable and satellite television operations, increasing production and
distribution of major studio and independent films, and continued growth and development
of interactive media, such as direct-for-Web movies and videos, should increase demand
for actors, producers, and directors. However, greater emphasis on national, rather than
local, entertainment productions may restrict employment opportunities in the broadcasting industry.
Venues for live entertainment, such as Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters, touring
productions, and repertory theaters in many major metropolitan areas, as well as theme
parks and resorts, are expected to offer many job opportunities. However, prospects in
these venues are more variable, because they fluctuate with economic conditions.
Median hourly earnings of actors were $11.28 in May 2004.
The middle 50 percent earned between $7.75 and $30.76. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $6.63,
and the highest 10 percent earned more than $56.48. Median annual earnings were $15.20
in performing arts companies and $9.27 in motion picture and video industries.
Annual earnings data for actors were not available because of the wide variation in the
number of hours worked by actors and the short-term nature of many jobs, which may last for
1 day or 1 week; it is extremely rare for actors to have guaranteed employment that exceeded 3 to 6 months.
Minimum salaries, hours of work, and other conditions of employment are covered in
collective bargaining agreements between the producers and the unions representing workers.
The Actors’ Equity Association (Equity) represents stage actors; the Screen Actors Guild (SAG)
covers actors in motion pictures, including television, commercials, and films; and the
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) represents television and
radio studio performers. Some actors who regularly work in several media find it
advantageous to join multiple unions, while SAG and AFTRA may share jurisdiction for
work in additional areas, such as the production of training or educational films not
slated for broadcast, television commercial work, and interactive media. While these
unions generally determine minimum salaries, any actor or director may negotiate for a
salary higher than the minimum.
Under terms of a joint SAG and AFTRA contract covering all unionized workers, motion
picture and television actors with speaking parts earned a minimum daily rate of $716 or
$2,483 for a 5-day week as of October 1, 2005. Actors also receive contributions to their
health and pension plans and additional compensation for reruns and foreign telecasts
of the productions in which they appear.
According to Equity, the minimum weekly salary for actors in Broadway productions as of June 30, 2005 was $1,422.
Actors in Off-Broadway theaters received minimums ranging from $493 to $857 a week as of October 23, 2005,
depending on the seating capacity of the theater. Regional theaters that operate under an Equity agreement pay actors $531 to $800 per week. For touring productions, actors receive an additional $777 per week for living expenses ($819 per week in higher cost cities). New terms were negotiated under an “experimental touring program” provision for lower budget musicals that tour to smaller cities or that perform for fewer performances at each stop. In an effort to increase the number of paid workweeks while on tour, actors may be paid less than the full production rate for touring shows in exchange for higher per diems and profit participation.
Some well-known actors stars earn well above the minimum; their salaries are
many times the figures cited, creating the false impression that all actors are highly paid.
For example, of the nearly 100,000 SAG members, only about 50 might be considered stars.
The average income that SAG members earn from acting less than $5,000 a year is low
because employment is sporadic. Therefore, most actors must supplement their incomes by
holding jobs in other occupations.
Many actors who work more than a qualifying number of days, or weeks per year or earn
over a set minimum pay, are covered by a union health, welfare, and pension fund, which
includes hospitalization insurance to which employers contribute. Under some employment
conditions, Equity and AFTRA members receive paid vacations and sick leave.
Median annual earnings of salaried producers and directors were $52,840 in May 2004.
The middle 50 percent earned between $35,550 and $87,980. Median annual earnings were $75,200
in motion picture and video industries and $43,890 in radio and television broadcasting.
Many stage directors belong to the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC),
and film and television directors belong to the Directors Guild of America. Earnings of stage
directors vary greatly. According to the SSDC, summer theaters offer compensation,
including “royalties” (based on the number of performances), usually ranging from $2,500
to $8,000 for a 3- to 4-week run. Directing a production at a dinner theater generally
will pay less than directing one at a summer theater, but has more potential for
generating income from royalties. Regional theaters may hire directors for
longer periods, increasing compensation accordingly. The highest-paid directors
work on Broadway and commonly earn $50,000 per show. However, they also receive
payment in the form of royalties a negotiated percentage of gross box office
receipts that can exceed their contract fee for long-running box office successes.
Stage producers seldom get a set fee; instead, they get a percentage of a
show’s earnings or ticket sales.
