Starring actor's pay ?

[David10086]

Posted: 5/7/22 at 11:41am

Since my original post was deleted because someone thought public court documents is 'too personal', let me ask it this way - 

 

Does $1668 per week seem like an average paycheck for a an actor starring in a Broadway revival ? For 8 performances in total, that comes out to $208 per performance.  

[thedrybandit]

Posted: 5/7/22 at 12:00pm

No, that number is low. I forget what the current Equity minimum for a Broadway salary is, but as of 2018 it was $2,034 a week. I believe now it's closer to $2,200. There are exceptions for non profits and the like, and actors are often able to negotiate higher depending on their credits, if they're a dance captain, etc.

[David10086]

Posted: 5/7/22 at 12:28pm

I thought it was rather low for a 'celebrity' starring actor. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 5/7/22 at 12:34pm

At a nonprofit theatre, everyone earns scale, and the minimum is lower than that of a commercially-produced production. So someone like Jesse Tyler Ferguson will earn the same as Ken Marks. Sometimes the nonprofit production can figure out workarounds, especially if a commercial co-producer is involved –– such as a "holding fee" for a possible commercial transfer, or a "media fee," or some other fictional justification to add some money to their salary –– but that's not very common.

Commercial productions with stars are entirely different, and the amount that a person earns depends on their name-value. But someone like Jesse Williams or Mary Louise Parker doesn't have nearly as much box office value as the people mentioned below:

From the NY Post in 2016: Midler will get $150,000 per week, plus a percentage of the box office plus merchandising. The source added that Midler’s piece of the box office goes up if the show hauls in $1 million per week. Julia Roberts reportedly raked in $150,000 per week while starring in “Three Days of Rain” in 2006, which included a piece of the box-office action. Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane reportedly made upward of $100,000 in “The Producers.”

From Forbes in 2019: Bryan Cranston is earning union minimum rather than taking a star-sized salary. This means he's only making $2,095 a week, the same as everyone else onstage. [After the show recoups,] he's entitled to a significant chunk of the net profits: 25.2% to be exact, according to the LLC's operating agreement. Assuming grosses stay at their present height, this means Cranston will be walking away with about $90,000 a week, or $1 million by the end of the run.

[jakethesnake]

Posted: 5/7/22 at 5:03pm

The Broadway minimum is close to $2400 now.  And that’s the bare minimum, what an ensemble person starts at before they get any required payments for understudying, swing fee, etc. Stars will make significantly more than that. 

[soulmistin]

Posted: 5/7/22 at 8:17pm

Just so you know, while I was the person who said the original was too personal, I didn’t do anything to contribute to its deletion. I didn’t report it or anything like that. 

[LillianGregory]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 8:07am

thedrybandit said: "No, that number is low. I forget what the current Equity minimum for a Broadway salary is, but as of 2018 it was $2,034 a week. I believe now it's closer to $2,200. There are exceptions for non profits and the like, and actors are often able to negotiate higher depending on their credits, if they're a dance captain, etc."

I think it’s around $2,200 now too. Plus, big names or leads can negotiate way more, right?

[Ensemble1728039452]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 8:09am

jakethesnake said: "The Broadway minimum is close to $2400 now. And that’s the bare minimum, what an ensemble person starts at before they get any required payments for understudying, swing fee, etc. Stars will make significantly more than that."

Wow, that’s a solid starting pay! Makes sense with NYC’s cost of living, but I bet the extra fees add up fast.

[jakethesnake]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 8:29am

Ensemble1728039452 said: "jakethesnake said: "The Broadway minimum is close to $2400 now. And that’s the bare minimum, what an ensemble person starts at before they get any required payments for understudying, swing fee, etc. Stars will make significantly more than that."

Wow, that’s a solid starting pay! Makes sense with NYC’s cost of living, but I bet the extra fees add up fast."

The minimum is now closer to $2800.  While it is certainly a nice salary, once you factor in taxes, union dues, agent and manager commission, etc, it’s not as much as you think.  

[quizking101]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 8:35am

While it appears “solid”, the number is before things like taxes, union dues, and agent fees. The take-home is likely MUCH lower. Couple that with the fact that the money is only coming in as long as the show is running and you find many actors taking up a side hustle or a survival job to make the ends meet.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 9:59am

quizking101 said: "Couple that with the fact that the money is only coming in as long as the show is running"

This is the part a lot of people seem to forget. Yes, if you get in a show like Hamilton or Wicked or Chicago, you're set for multiple years or longer of making that $2800 a week. But the majority of shows run less than 6 months, which means you get that salary for half a year and then who knows how long until you get it again. So it's still a good salary, but it's only for a very limited time.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 10:00am

quizking101 said: "While it appears “solid”, the number is before things like taxes, union dues, and agent fees. The take-home is likely MUCH lower. Couple that with the fact that the money is only coming in as long as the show is running and you find many actors taking up a side hustle or a survival job to make the ends meet."

If anyone's interested in how the numbers break down:

Last season on Broadway, there were 21 musicals (both originals and revivals) that opened. Only 4 of them (Outsiders, Gatsby, Hell's Kitchen, and Cabaret) are still open. So let's say you got lucky and were cast in one of those four shows that have run for a year. If you're making the equity minimum, you are taking in $137,176 a year. Not too shabby. Only now, you have to take off 15% for your agent, 15% for your manager, and 2.5% for your union dues. That takes you down to $92,594. Still, not too shabby. Only now, you have to pay taxes, and since you're considered self-employed by the IRS, you have to pay $28,334 out-of-pocket.

Final tally, if you are a Broadway actor, and your show manages to last a year when 81% of shows don't, you're looking at taking home a little over $64,000 a year, to live on, in the most expensive city in the world.

Updated On: 3/12/25 at 10:00 AM

[felixleiter]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 10:27am

While the overall sentiment of what you posted is something I agree with, I just want to make some corrections;

Agent fees are regulated  by Equity  and limited to 10% of an actors salary, not 15.

Managers are not regulated, but many many actors do not employ managers since most of the services provided by managers are aready provided by their agents. 15% is the standard, but again, not all actors employ managers.

Also, unless we are talking about actors who are receiving payment from their employer through an LLC or similarly structured individual corportation, Union work performed on Broadway and across the country is W2 work which is by definition not self emplyment, so the taxable wages would be different.

Alex Kulak2 said: "quizking101 said: "While it appears “solid”, the number is before things like taxes, union dues, and agent fees. The take-home is likely MUCH lower. Couple that with the fact that the money is only coming in as long as the show is running and you find many actors taking up a side hustle or a survival job to make the ends meet."

If anyone's interested in how the numbers break down:

Last season on Broadway, there were 21 musicals (both originals and revivals) that opened. Only 4 of them (Outsiders, Gatsby, Hell's Kitchen,andCabaret) are still open. So let's say you got lucky and were cast in one of those four shows that have run for a year. If you're making the equity minimum, you are taking in $137,176 a year. Not too shabby. Only now, you have to take off 15% for your agent, 15% for your manager, and 2.5% for your union dues. That takes you down to $92,594. Still, not too shabby. Only now, you have to pay taxes, and since you're considered self-employed by the IRS, you have to pay $28,334 out-of-pocket.

Final tally, if you are a Broadway actor, and your show manages to last a year when 81% of shows don't, you're looking at taking home a little over $64,000 a month, to live on, in the most expensive city in the world."

 

Updated On: 3/12/25 at 10:27 AM

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 11:02am

felixleiter said: "While the overall sentiment of what you posted is something I agree with, I just want to make some corrections;

Agent fees are regulated by Equity and limited to 10% of an actors salary, not 15.

Managers are not regulated, but many many actors do not employ managers since most of the services provided by managers are aready provided by their agents. 15% is the standard, but again, not all actors employ managers.

Also, unless we are talking about actors who are receiving payment from their employer through an LLC or similarly structured individual corportation, Union work performed on Broadway and across the country is W2 work which is by definition not self emplyment, so the taxable wages would be different.

Alex Kulak2 said: "quizking101 said: "While it appears “solid”, the number is before things like taxes, union dues, and agent fees. The take-home is likely MUCH lower. Couple that with the fact that the money is only coming in as long as the show is running and you find many actors taking up a side hustle or a survival job to make the ends meet."

If anyone's interested in how the numbers break down:

Last season on Broadway, there were 21 musicals (both originals and revivals) that opened. Only 4 of them (Outsiders, Gatsby, Hell's Kitchen,andCabaret) are still open. So let's say you got lucky and were cast in one of those four shows that have run for a year. If you're making the equity minimum, you are taking in $137,176 a year. Not too shabby. Only now, you have to take off 15% for your agent, 15% for your manager, and 2.5% for your union dues. That takes you down to $92,594. Still, not too shabby. Only now, you have to pay taxes, and since you're considered self-employed by the IRS, you have to pay $28,334 out-of-pocket.

Final tally, if you are a Broadway actor, and your show manages to last a year when 81% of shows don't, you're looking at taking home a little over $64,000 a month, to live on, in the most expensive city in the world."

"

Thanks for the corrections! Taking out the manager commission, reducing the agent commission, and using W2 tax rates as opposed to self-employed, the take-home pay rises to just under $80.5k. A bit closer to a livable wage in New York, but there's still the big contenders of the city's insane cost of living and the short lifespan of most Broadway shows.

[VotePeron]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 11:54am

Alex Kulak2 said: "...Final tally, if you are a Broadway actor, and your show manages to last a year when 81% of shows don't, you're looking at taking home a little over $64,000 a month, to live on, in the most expensive city in the world."

Well, if we're gonna open up that can of worms, lets talk about everyone working administratively on Broadway for wayyyy less than that a year. Assistants, Account Managers, Social Media Associates, Developers, mid-tier managers and even some at the Director level, earn less than that salaried. And that's before taxes. 

The theatre industry gets away with murder for how little they pay compared to what other industries do. Base salaries for admin roles in NYC theater start at 40k/45k, and get 500 applicants in one week. They work 9-5, are on-call during the show times, and work weekends. Not to devalue an actors worth, but pocketing $65k after taxes is a hell of a lot better than the hundreds of people working in offices to support those shows.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 12:26pm

Alex Kulak:  pretty sure you didn't mean to insinuate that actors are bringing home 64k a month.  (or did I read that wrong?)

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 3/12/25 at 2:13pm

Sorry, slip of the keyboard, I fixed it!