Handling Financial Pressure for Actors

I’m sitting in a restaurant in Kathmandu, Nepal

It’s my last evening of the trip

I fly out in four hours time

So I’m determined to have one last hoorah

I look around

The place is surprisingly modern

Completely hidden behind a big iron gate

And a crumbling old pink brick wall `

Hiddleston and Dafoe brought the rest of the cast here the night before I arrived

So I’m determined to see what all the fuss was about

I’m sitting with Jack (name changed for privacy sake)

He insists I try something which I won’t even try to spell

He tells me to trust him

“I can’t deal with too spicy”

I tell him

Again

He tells me to trust him.

Despite having only two days of filming

Jack has been here for three weeks

Just hanging out in Nepal

His scenes were both outdoors

So they needed his schedule to be able to handle the weather of the Himalayas

He is beginning to feel homesick

When I first became a parent

All I wanted was time off

I missed my adventures

My being able to do whatever the hell I wanted

Whenever the hell I wanted

But I’m slowly realising

There is such thing as too much free time

I’ve been here six nights

Six glorious nights

And I do feel sad about leaving

But I’m definitely ready to go home

I’m needed at home

That I’m clear about

I use to hang up my costume for the last time on an acting job

And feel a sense of dread

Like I had nothing else to contribute toward

Now

I know I’m flying home to change nappies

My purpose couldn’t be clearer.

The food arrives at our table

I dip the bread looking stuff

Into the orange sauce looking stuff

And my eyes start to cry immediately

I lunge for my glass of water

The ice melts in my mouth

It does nothing to stop the burning

I look at Jack smiling

I smile back with water leaking from my eyes

“It might be a bit spicy” He says

Looking like a naughty child that’s been caught

I lean back on the couch

We have a lot to catch up on

We first met when I was helping at NIDA

With the auditions for the next years intake

I was moving into third year and he was just trying to get in

I remember speaking with the staff during the break

“That kids a freak” I said

And sure enough

Jack has been working profusely ever since graduating

For every main stage theatre company

TV network

Major Film production company

You name it

His ability to rise up to the writing

Whilst staying comfortably in his own voice and body

It’s breath taking stuff

He is an artist I truly look up to

Who is several years younger than me.

The last time we saw each other was two years prior

On set back in Sydney

When it wouldn’t stop raining and we hung out in the trailers for hours

As I listen to him regale his journey over the last two years

A hint of frustration starts to creep into his voice

Mixed with a dash of sadness

Then he hits me with:

“You know, Mike

I’m done

I’ll give it a couple more years

But then I’m done

If nothing has changed by my mid thirties

Then it’s time for me to throw in the towel”

I’m speechless

The guy is one of the most skilled I know

I only hear wonderful things about him behind his back

I watch him work to a degree that I consider to be in the realm of consistent

And yet I see him sitting in the chair

Looking down at his monstrously spicy food

And he looks

Exhausted

His body knows it’s done

Whatever has got him here

It is no longer sustainable

He needs change

I lean in

I ask him what he means when he says “If nothing changes”

He is referring to a job which significantly changes his financial situation

Ahh

There we go

I smile

He looks at me and squints his eyes

“What?”

He says

“May as well give up now then”

He can tell I’m being a smart arse

Alright

What’s going on here

I avoid writing about money and wealth as an actor as much as I can

But the truth is I yearn to be more open about it

Why?

Because when a working artist tells me they are exhausted and “done”

(Which is often)

There are usually the same repeating reasons

Financial exhaustion is

(Without a doubt)

One of the big three reasons

So the discussion around money, wealth, and income as an artist

I believe

Is one that needs attention, honesty and care

When I left drama school

I believed

And I use that word specifically

Believed

That to earn money outside of acting

Meant I was failing at acting

The story that I was telling myself

Was that I should be earning enough money as an actor

Year after year

To never have to do anything else outside of acting

Yikes

That’s a bloody high expectation to put on yourself as a graduate

You can imagine how exhausted my body felt whilst my brain was believing that story

Especially when you consider how many actors on this earth genuinely don’t have do anything other than act

(My argument is zero - but we’ll get to that point later)

For years

I kept telling myself

When I land that big one

Then I’ll be okay!

When I get that huge series

Then I’ll be financially fine!

When I land that big Warner Bro’s film

Then I’ll have enough money!

Alright

Let’s bring in some rational thinking

After tax, commissions, student loans etc

It’s a good day if you end up with half of your pay check

I remember the day I finally got my first check for my first big movie

I dropped to my knees in the middle of the sheep paddock

When I saw I was left with just a third of what I thought I was going to get

Side note - a good accountant is worth every dollar at tax time

Next

The game of residuals has changed

The days of getting paid millions of dollars

Decades after you finished a film because of how successful it still is…

Those days are sadly over

Residuals can still be a wonderful bonus

But the changes in the studio systems since streaming began

Means they are no longer what they use to be

Next

What actually is enough?

Between a networth of $50k and $50m

People, on average, feel they need two times the amount they currently earn in order to feel financially secure

So it is very likely

No matter how much you’re earning

You will still be telling yourself

(Subconsciously or consciously)

“When I can just make twice as much

Then I’ll be okay”

No matter how big of an acting job you get

Three months later

Or Three years later

You will still be feeling like it’s not enough

And that’s totally normal

Next

What about those actors who get paid many, many millions?

Surely they’re fine!?

Surely if I get a job which pays out millions over a couple of years I won’t have to worry about nuthin!?

Mmmkay

Let’s look at those very very few actors who earn those astronomical amounts

How long did it take them to get to that point?

In most cases

Decades

So what were they doing in the years before that?

Renner was selling real estate

Brolin was day trading

Robbie was building sandwiches at subway

And even after decades of side jobs

What do they do with their money during the good times

That allows them to never have to do anything else but act in the future?

They pay people to invest it for them

So they can create income streams for the future when there is no money coming in from acting

And when the income streams dry up?

And they need more cash flow?

Those beer ads in Japan

Those coffee machine ads in Australia

Those fragrance billboards in Hong Kong

Those endorsement deals with watch companies overseas

They start looking mighty fine

Let’s get clear

No acting job is coming to sustainably save you financially

No acting job is coming to sustainably save you financially

No acting job is coming to sustainably save you financially

In the short term, yes!

There will be some damn sure moments of flourish and relief

But long term?

Actors don’t move on because they are done with acting

They move on because they are done with being financially reliant on acting

And to be reliant on acting

Means you’re relying on things which are out of control

Your rent is now out of your control

Your food is now out of your control

The clothes on your back

Out of your control

Damn sure that’s going to bring up the scaries for your intelligent body

And over the long term

The body will eventually say no

It won’t sustain such an exhausting existence.

That night with Jack brought up an important conversation

One which we kept texting about over the days to come

Who the hell knows what the next few years will look like for him

What work will flow his way

Or what wealth will come with it

One thing is for sure

There is a very, very big difference between giving up on acting

And giving up being financially reliant on acting

Hope this helps

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