Broadway Actors Salaries — Page 2

It makes me sad also - I think actors and sports figures are the most over paid people in the world - but I still support the union I belong to and believe in health insurance and all the other well-deserved perks that we are entitled to. Exhorbitant salaries aside...

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It's simple capitalism. If you're one of the relatively small number of actors whose name and reputation is such that thousands of people of willing to shell out $100 to see you, then shouldn't you be compensated for the extra tickets you sell for the producers? There are folks whose name on a marquee guarantees good box office even when the product they are in is terrible.

Adam Sandler makes stupid movies that are panned across the board by every critic in the business -- so bad that if an unknown actor were in the film, very few people nationwide would bother showing up to see it at all, but with his name above the title, that bad film will gross $30 - 40 million in its opening weekend. Since the ONLY reason anybody showed up to see that film was him, why shouldn't Sandler make $25+ million from the producers getting rich off of him?

Same with Hugh Jackman. How long do you think "Boy From Oz" would have run with an unknown, but very talented actor in the lead? A week? One night? Considering the mostly scathing reviews it received, it wouldn't have survived a minute without Hugh Jackman's star power. Jackman is the only reason the producers of the show are even close to recouping their $8 million investment -- so do you pay him the $1300 minimum and let the producers pocket the rest or does he deserve whatever it is they're paying him (and he probably deserves more).

Same with certain sports figures and other celebrities. Certain ones are so popular that tv ratings and advertising rates soar every time they appear on the screen. Michael Jordan being in the finals typically meant NBA ratings would be double their usual level -- Forbes magazine once estimated that Michael Jordan generated in excess of $1 billion per year for the companies whose products he endorsed .... one can hardly begrudge someone like that a few million dollars in endorsement fees considering how much more money those companies were making off of his name.

In a better world, perhaps good teachers would make more than athletes and nurses would make more than movie stars, but under the economic system we have, those lucky few who have "names' that inspire thousands, even millions, to pay good money for products associated with them, deserve to be paid a decent portion of the revenue they are able to generate.

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But there many clauses that are written into contracts. A clause that states that if a show grosses over a certain amount of money by a set time as a result of XYZ's contribution, that performer is elgible for a percentage of the gate.

That being said, this clause is somewhat uncommon...but I know that it exsists in some cases on Broadway. So in essence, the "Hugh Jackmans" of the business due reap what they sow. (not saying I have any knowledge of his contract terms, at all).

But there we(I) go..discussing salaries. LOL!

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Updated On: 6/28/04 at 05:16 PM

It's simple economics - supply vs demand. There are probably many undiscovered potential triple threats but if no one knows them enough to cast them or to attract box office receipts, then they don't get paid what is cmparatively due their talents.

Some sports figures do risk their lives to earn phenomenal income - take the case of Michael Schumacher, the world champion Formula One racer - he made $ 80 M in 2003 according to Forbes, the same amount as Tiger Woods did. And yet he risks his life every other weekend, compared to a comparatively risk-free sports like golf. More interestingly, Mr. Schumacher who has achieved practically every record in his sport says he does not choose to retire at age 35 because he is happiest when he is racing. Perhaps, actors who are paid a lot of money, are still motivated by the love of performing and not simply because of the perks that lucrative pay brings to the most successful.

Question to throw out there: does anyone know how much an off-Broadway performer makes? (Both leads and supporting.)

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Another way to explain supply and demand:

I've heard people say "Policemen and firemen are more important that athletes - why should athletes earn 100 times as much money?"

Well, in the city of Chicago there are arount 8000 police and firemen - it's a job that the average able-bodied man or woman can learn to do with the proper training. On the other hand, there are 12 players on the Chicago Bulls. You can play basketball for four years at a major university, and your chances of getting drafted by an NBA team are around 1 in 1000.

I think it's been proven that there aren't a lot of actors walking around on the streets who are capable of doing what Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick or Hugh Jackman can do - at least in terms of ticket sales.