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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder what actors do when they don't act?

110 replies

Nomilkinmycoffeeplease · 29/12/2021 17:08

I had a chance to catch up on a number of series over Christmas, and discovered quite a few interesting actors I have never heard of (I usually live in scandi thrillers, so BBC productions have not been on my radar much).
Then looking up some of these people I kind of figured out why I never heard of most of them- they seem to be doing one production every year or two years if lucky, sometimes get a short stint in a theatre. And then nothing, or at least nothing I could find on them by googling :)
I presume some people may be doing odd jobs here and there, but then it seems quite disheartening once they hit their 40s and the big break )if they stick around this much)... I have some friends who are musicians and they manage to make a fair bit by giving private classes, in wedding bands etc, but it must be harder in the acting profession?

So yeah, really, just wondering how people make ends meet?

OP posts:
blissfulllife · 30/12/2021 09:25

@NoSquirrels no not Anthony head lol

TheToddlerLife · 30/12/2021 13:01

@unfortunateevents What about things like getting a mortgage or having children? I've always wondered about this. Not just with actors but people in any creative field - the ones who aren't famous and high earning I mean. Maybe they come from money or have a partner with a highly paid, permanent job?
Otherwise, how do you forward plan...surely you'd be unlikely to get a mortgage and even renting would be difficult as landlords prefer people with a stable income. And when you have kids you can't just drop everything to go and work on a project or a film or whatever. Nurseries and childminders want you to commit to set days and aren't very flexible IME.

Original poster
Nomilkinmycoffeeplease · 30/12/2021 13:11

@TheToddlerLife Such good questions!

I imagine if filming happens, the other parent takes care of the kids, and hopefully they have family support? As it seems you do need to drop everything and go when you can. But would love to hear about that too, especially as some filming happens over months and months and potentially abroad, so it's like having a partner in a military, when they are absent for long periods of time.

I have a friend who is a pro musician and so is her partner, most of their income is cash in hand and very irregular (they have amazing months with lots of cgigs and commissions, and some worse, but they are unique in their field so manage to get by), so they managed to get some benefits as well, but they did say the situation was not great for stuff like mortgages. They ended up buying a place for cash abroad

OP posts:
Original poster
Nomilkinmycoffeeplease · 31/12/2021 12:33

@eddiemairswife the quesion is, how long can you rest for!

OP posts:
GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 31/12/2021 12:40

I can only speak for myself, but I'm lucky to have a very supportive DH (both financially and in terms of family life) and my DM is local and very happy to help with childcare.

Despite that, I will only do short tours/filming schedules; and my agent knows not to put me forward for anything that will take me away from home for long periods. Yes it limits me but while my DC are so young I don't feel I have a choice, they need me.

If I was offered something that was a life-changing amount of money which involved a long trip away from home, then we'd have to think about how to manage that, but I can't see that happening any time soon!

Notoironing · 31/12/2021 12:51

I used to be a recruiter and once interviewed someone for a call centre job who had been in brookside for 4 years.

An actor from Hollyoaks used to give out the free paper outside my student union.

FourFourthsDontCare · 31/12/2021 12:54

I know several - all in their 40s or older. One, who’s appeared in a number of TV dramas but whose real love is theatah darling teaches (in a school) and now restricts acting to niche theatre work. Another is a medic, which they seem to manage to dovetail quite well with occasional TV jobs. A third, a late entrant to acting, works primarily as an extra and also has a part-time in marketing - although I won’t be surprised if they have a breakthrough into “real” acting. A fourth is a voice coach. A fifth is an A-lister (UK and Hollywood) so, aside from the ever-present “OMG was that my last ever job!!”, downtime is no longer a concern 😬

MojoMoon · 31/12/2021 14:10

A friend's husband works on big films in a technical role - he can be away for 2-3 months.

They get a short term live in nanny while he is away as she also has a career.

He is usually only away for one long stint per year and then the rest of the year is planning the next job before filming. He is contractor but seems to move directly from one film to another without much downtime (apart from in lockdown 1)

Most actors probably don't need to be on set for the full 3 months filming - they'll be there for a few weeks shooting their parts and then back later for some more.

I imagine most of them factor in the cost of paying for short term nannies to support their families as part of the cost of taking the job

GrimDamnFanjo · 31/12/2021 14:25

Know one who has been in all of the soaps, named parts, fairly big east Enders role in the 90s.
They are in their sixties now and do radio and a lot of voice work, independent theatre etc.

Newgirls · 31/12/2021 14:49

Daisy may Cooper cleaned offices for a few years before writing this country. Well worth reading her book. She went to Rada and still found it hard to get work, pay bills etc

JustUseTheDoorSanta · 31/12/2021 14:56

One friend does a lot of freelance journalism, and is also a published author; I don't think he's had any decent roles in a few years now but his other careers are going well.
A young man who was a barista at work had 5 gig jobs at one point; actor, barista, promos (oatly ice cream, red bull, frozen yoghurt etc), bar staff and wedding waiter. I've no idea how he kept track of all the jobs, it seemed a lot to be on top of and he seemed to work every day plus evenings.
A woman I went to school with did acting and also lots of office temp admin work, she gave up on acting in the end and went into marketing.
An old neighbour used to do entertainment work on cruise ships and also do yacht crew work, alongside the acting roles that were mostly panto. So summer on boats and winter in theatres basically.
A current neighbour does gardening and carpentry between acting jobs; well, he calls himself an actor but we've never heard about anything he's been in. We have heard he builds a decent fence though.

Choccyp1g · 31/12/2021 15:13

A woman I went to school with did acting and also lots of office temp admin work, she gave up on acting in the end and went into marketing.

A man I worked with did similar, he acted his way into some quite highly paid bullshit jobs.

cheapskatemum · 31/12/2021 15:39

In my role as support worker for young people in residential care homes, I have met agency care workers who are also actors. I really enjoy working with them as they are so entertaining Smile.

wombat1a · 31/12/2021 16:00

Got a friend who makes her living from acting, lots of small modelling jobs for adverts, extras in TV shows (people walking in background), a zombie a few times. She does enough to not need to do anything else.

HandWash · 31/12/2021 16:16

My children act (obviously they don't have any bills to pay!) and I have no idea how anyone makes a living out of it.

Even when you book a job, you don't know when you'll get paid. For example an advert filmed in March, didn't air until October and payment wasn't given until a month after that.

Unless you are very lucky and get regular work in a soap etc, then it's only ever going to be a hobby for most people.

CounsellorTroi · 31/12/2021 16:20

I believe the bloke who played Martin Platt on Corrie went into cheese making, got quite good at it and won awards.

Welsh actors mainly do supply teaching or work as freelance translators when they are not acting.

Sahara123 · 31/12/2021 16:40

Roughly 1985 we needed a plumber , when he turned up it was Stephen Graham , Liverpudlian actor well know now for Line of Duty and much more ! Whenever he’s on now we say “it’s the plumber “ again ! Great actor and pretty good plumber !!

onedayoranother · 31/12/2021 16:53

The actors I know do a lot of work that doesn't give credit (extras) and do corporate training films. Quite a lot of work for the latter. One now conducts workshops on doctor/patient interaction at hospitals and used to act as a 'patient' before running them herself. Regional or touring plays. Cruise ships - one only ever worked on cruise ships up til covid. For every name actor there are hundreds and hundreds of jobbing actors out there.

Newgirls · 31/12/2021 17:07

I think a lot teach kids too at weekends

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 31/12/2021 17:41

@Sahara123

Roughly 1985 we needed a plumber , when he turned up it was Stephen Graham , Liverpudlian actor well know now for Line of Duty and much more ! Whenever he’s on now we say “it’s the plumber “ again ! Great actor and pretty good plumber !!
Wow! That's fantastic. What a claim to fame!
Original poster
Nomilkinmycoffeeplease · 01/01/2022 16:33

@Newgirls It's this sort of stuff that I find a bit heartbreaking. I heard how difficult it is to get into RADA (among others) and then to not actually be able to do what you love and are good at, it must be hard. And they are still super lucky, as so many many people don't make it to good drama schools, but waste money on dubious courses and degrees that don't give you much.

@Sahara123 haha, wow, amazing. I would not mind him to turn up to fix my plumbing. Ba dum tsssss.

OP posts:
Newgirls · 02/01/2022 14:18

Yep nomilk. To be that talented and still not find work. Tough industry. Daisy MAy Cooper wrote her own part which was key to her success.

hivemindneeded · 03/01/2022 17:05

@Sahara123 - wow. He is a brilliant actor. Bet he doesn't have to do plumbing any more.

MsJuniper · 03/01/2022 17:17

I used to employ front of house staff in a theatre and most of them were actors. Lots do bar work or office temping as well, or teach private classes E.g. singing or yoga.

I know a semi-famous actor who lives in a pretty modest house but with a very fancy bathroom and kitchen. They were done when he was having some success but even then he didn't want to buy a big house as he never knew when the money/ work would run out.

Octothorpe · 04/01/2022 12:56

The man who fitted our kitchen was very keen to let us know that he was really an actor. He’d played some small parts in soaps, iirc, but I got the impression that he wasn’t getting as much acting work as he tried to make out.

He wasn’t much cop as a kitchen fitter, as our subsequently collapsed pan-drawer can testify Hmm