Money · 1 of 5
What actors make while working
Median
$50,000
Lower end
$35,000
Upper end
$83,000
Read this range carefully. Job Bank's national median is $24.13 an hour, about $50,000 a year if you worked full-time hours all year. Almost nobody does. Acting is paid by the day or the contract, so these numbers describe the rate for time on set or on stage, not what a typical performer takes home in a year.