How Much Will I Get Paid for a Role?

The short answer #

There is no standard amount. There is no minimum and no maximum. What a role pays depends entirely on the production, and two roles that look similar on the page can pay wildly different sums.

We know that is not the answer anyone wants. But any figure we gave you here would be wrong more often than it was right, so we would rather explain what the payment actually depends on, and how to find out for a particular role.

What the money depends on #

Several things affect what a role pays, and they all pull in different directions.

• The production itself. A major feature film with a large budget is at one end of the scale. A short film made by students, with no budget at all, is at the other. Between those two you have television, streaming, commercials, corporate work, music videos, theatre and everything else, and they all pay differently.
• The size of the role. A lead is paid differently from a guest role, which is paid differently again from a featured extra or a background artist.
• How many days you are needed. Many roles are paid by the day, so a role that shoots over eight days is worth more than the same role shot in one.
• Your own experience and profile. An actor with a long list of credits, or a name that helps sell the production, can command more than someone starting out. That is simply how the industry works.
• Where the production is based. Rates and customs vary a great deal from one country to another.
• Whether the production works to an agreed rate card. Some productions are made under a union or industry agreement that sets minimum rates. Many others are not. If a production tells you it works to a particular agreement, that is worth understanding before you talk numbers.

So how do you find out? #

In this order.

1. Apply for the role. Do not open with a question about money. It reads badly, and at that stage nobody is in a position to answer you anyway.
2. Wait to hear back. 
3. If the production comes back and is interested, that is the moment to ask. Once there is a real conversation about you and a real role, asking what the role pays is an ordinary, professional question. Ask it plainly and expect a plain answer.

Asking early does not get you a faster answer. It usually just ends the conversation.

Payment is not only the fee #

When you do ask, remember that the fee is often only part of what is on the table. Depending on the production, some or all of the following may be included, and they are worth real money.

• Per diem. A daily allowance to cover food and day-to-day costs while you are working away. It is not part of your fee: it is money to live on. The amount varies enormously and is usually paid in cash.
• Travel. This might be a train ticket, a mileage payment, an economy flight or, on larger productions, business class. Some productions pay nothing towards travel at all.
• Accommodation. If you are shooting away from home there may be a hotel. The standard varies from a shared budget room to something rather better. There is no fixed rule.
• Meals on set. Often provided, sometimes not.
• Usage or buyout. This matters most in commercials. It is a separate payment for the right to use the finished work in particular places, for a particular length of time. It can be larger than the shooting fee itself.
• Extras beyond the shoot days. Fittings, rehearsals, overtime, night shoots and travel days are sometimes paid and sometimes not.

So a role paying a modest daily fee with flights, a hotel and a decent per diem may be worth more to you than a higher fee where you cover everything yourself. Look at the whole package.

Questions worth asking once they are interested #

• What is the fee, and is it per day or for the whole role?
• How many shooting days do you expect me for, and over what dates?
• Is travel paid, and is accommodation provided?
• Is there a per diem, and how much?
• For commercials: what usage is included, in which territories, and for how long?
• When will I be paid, and how?

None of these questions are rude. A production used to working with actors will have the answers ready.

Unpaid and low-paid work #

Plenty of genuine work pays little or nothing: student films, shorts, no-budget features, some theatre. That is not automatically a bad deal. Early on, a credit, footage for your reel and a good working relationship can be worth having. What matters is that you know what you are agreeing to before you commit your days to it, and that expenses are dealt with honestly rather than left vague.

Be wary of anything described as "deferred" payment unless you understand precisely what it means and when it would be paid. In practice it very often means unpaid.

Two things that never change #

You never pay to get a role. Not a fee, not an audition charge, not a deposit, not a payment for a place on a list. Genuine work pays you, not the other way round.

Get it in writing before you travel or start work. Fee, dates, travel, accommodation, per diem, and when you will be paid. Keep that conversation in the enCAST messaging system so there is a record of what was agreed.

What enCAST does and does not do #

enCAST lists castings and connects you with productions. We are not your agent and we are not a party to your agreement. We do not set rates, we do not negotiate on your behalf, and we do not handle your payment. The fee and the terms are between you and the production.

What we can do is help if something looks wrong. If a production is evasive about money, pushes you to agree without anything in writing, or asks you for a payment, tell us. That is much easier for us to look into if the conversation happened here rather than by private email or phone.