Anyone know what a support actor would get paid for a TV programme?

[lowflow]

Been laid up in bed and watched a load of British TV box sets and it's all the same support actors! Inspector Morse, Death in Paradise, New Tricks blah blah. They never have the lead role but in everything!

Anyone know how much an actor would get paid per episode? I'm trying to imagine how they get a decent living from 2 or 3 appearances per year in different series.

I got paid £250 a day as a “dancer” in peaky blinders season 1 however long ago that was. It was an enhanced payment as I had a “skill” as a dancer. Long day, great fun, had to go to hair and wardrobe and pay for that out of my own pocket and time though. Food on set was included and was delicious. Also spilt chocolate cake on cillian Murphy which is my claim to fame.

This was my only experience of support actor work, but many of the people I spoke to that day were regulars and often took annual leave from normal corporate jobs to do this work (literally hanging around in background of scenes) as it paid so well. I remember distinctly talking to a girl who had been the “star” of a jet 2 advert and she was boasting about the all expenses paid couple of days trip to the Balearics to film.

@Catsonskis ooh how exciting. Definitely a claim to fame

I'm watching McDonald and Dobbs and the support actress is in everything but never a regular. Victoria Hamilton. I wonder what she gets paid? I'm reckoning 20k per episode

A friend of mine did this for a while although she was a trained actress and did sometimes do featured extra work where she'd have a few lines, it was anything from £50 - £250 a day and that was a few years ago now. It was very off and on but her husband was in a high paid job and so it was just a bit of pocket money for her. I think most people who do it do are students or don't need to work full time or can easily get time off. When she was working though she was often having to get up at 5am to be on set early and would often be sitting about all day freezing.

Actor or extra?

I do a bit of work as an extra, it's about £100 a day once the agent takes their fee, and they feed you. I don't speak or "act" though, mostly waft about in the background. If you are asked to do dialogue (which is at most a line, you get an extra £70 ish)

Actors won't just be relying on that sort of work for their whole income though, unless they get a part in something like Eastenders or Casualty. They will be networking, theatre performances, or trying to get job elsewhere in the industry doing location manager, or assistant director looking after the extras, or taking temp jobs in an office or call centre if they need to pay the bills.

Do you mean extras when you say support actor, or those sort of character actors that get one off small roles, I remember Victoria Hamilton being quite a big star, she played the lead in a drama about queen Victoria I remember.

It's always much much less than you think!

I mean actor. I'm using her as an example as she seems to pop up as a core third lead support actor so just wondering what they might earn as not consistent work

Julie Hesmondhalgh is another example of a regular character actor and also Lucy Robinson.

Google tells me between £350 and £1500 per episode

Ah yes, I understand what you mean, sorry I can’t help with their earning info, but I actually have thought to myself that this type of actor has the perfect balance. They work regularly and consistently but without the pressure of being very well known, they seem to get a great range of parts as well.

It massively depends on how good their agent is - a friend of mine gets lots of work like this and is definitely paid a few grand per episode for support roles, as you say which is way more substantial than extras or bit parts. The kind of featured/guest role or office based police woman in every episode but with not much plot. I imagine people like Victoria Hamilton and Julie Hesmondlagh would get several thousand per episode too.

It probably depends very much on whether they are 'random minor character' in a 5 minute scene, in which case they are probably only on set for one day, or are 'pivotal storyline character' throughout an entire episode, which could take several weeks to film.

I’ve thought about this a lot, I often look on Wikipedia pages and wonder how they’re surviving off 2-3 jobs a year for so many years. I always wonder if it’s kid related. So just enough acting to keep your toe in the water while You rear kids? Maybe

IMDb is your friend.

They survive on 3-4 jobs a year by doing other work in between. It may be acting work- corporate stuff or voice work. Or other work like teaching etc. Or they do lots of theatre work and telly work bumps their earnings up.

Haven't done it for about 10 years but I got £100 a day.

Depends on the channel or production company. BBC notoriously don't have much money to pay people. But they probably have to a bit more now there's loads of competition.

Also depends on your agent.

There is also an equity minimum. And there are things like buyouts so a bigger fee but you don't get repeats or money if it's shown in other countries.

Victoria Hamilton is the Queen Mother in S1 and S2 of The Crown.

According to my sources () equity minimum rate speaking parts for BBC £417 per day.

As an aside, if you watch old b&w British films on Talking Pictures you say the same character actors appear in most of them; playing similar kind of roles. Almost like a rep company. Always think it must have been a nice living.

You do know actors do Work which isn't tv work?

A friend of mine had a recurring role in a soap for years as a copper...but not the arresting officer - he was always the second PC who got to hang around in the background looking grumpy & mildly shocked at the latest gruesome village murder.

I believe it paid in the low £100s, but quite a bit more if he got a line, so he'd be quite happy to get a 'come along, sir' or a 'I'm sorry ma'am, you can't go in there'...

He had a day job which paid the rent so allowed him to act a bit, front a band, & write & direct fringe stuff as side hustles.

This article was quite helpful

www.starnow.com/uk/magazine/article/money-matters-heres-how-much-uk-actors-earn-76929/