Actor Salary and Wage Information
| Wage Rate | Low (<10%) | Median (50%) | High (>90%) |
| Hourly Wage | $9.05 | $22.15 | $90+ |
| Annual Wage | $0 | $0 | $0 |
- "Low (<10%)" indicates that 10% of workers earned less and 90% earned more.
- "Median (50%)" indicates that 50% of workers earned less and 50% earned more.
- "High (>90%)" indicates that 90% of workers earned less and 10% earned more.
- "N/A" indicates that data in not available
*The annual salary and wage data presented above represents U.S, Based workers with full-time employment and year-round schedules.
Additional Information
Actors perform roles in television, stage, motion picture, video, or radio productions for entertainment, education, or advertising purposes. Actors use specialized skills related to voice, speech, body movement, and gesture to interpret dramatic and comedic roles. Some roles require actors to dance, sing, or perform some other highly specialized skill. The job also requires a lot of memorization, as actors are required to memorize their lines, cues, and movements.As of 2012, the median hourly rate for actors and actresses was just over $20 an hour. The lowest ten percent of actors and actresses earned less than $10 an hour, while the top ten percent earned more than $90 an hour.
As of 2013, actors had a relatively high percentage of workers who were members of labor unions - the Screen Actors Guild/American Federaion of Television and Radio Artists being the largest. Many stage actors join the Actors' Equity Association. While dues are expensive, union membership for actors offer many perks.