TV is sort of the only way to go for an actress my age to make a decent salary; with independent films, you just can't.
At 19, I got signed up for commercials, it was easy money.
Really, voice-over is great. If it paid as much as on camera work, it's all I'd ever do.
Pay in the acting world hasn't kept up with inflation.
I have two concerns with my work: having good things to act, and getting paid. In that order. Although if you're not getting paid well, that order can change. But that's what I'm concerned about. Good scenes. Decent money.
It still makes me giggle that I'm paid to act.
The truth in acting is that we are all hired help. We are a commodity. There is no difference between being an actor and pork bellies.
I landed about one a year. Just enough to make me question the gas money and all the driving in rush hour. When you audition for commercials, it's a lot of driving. What I netted wasn't exactly matching the hours I was putting in. I figured I'm not a face that makes people want to buy Lysol. Then I auditioned for Progressive.
My first professional audition was for a radio play in Manchester. That was the first audition that I got. It was my first paid job, which I think was, like, £150, and I thought it was megabucks.
