Actors earn less than half the average UK wage, and £5,000 less than National Living Wage, according to new research by the Actors’ Trust.
Using responses from 3,700 actors and stage management professionals, the study found incomes across the industry are well below UK averages.
While the average annual wages among actors amounts to £17,000 when combining additional income sources, a full-time salary of the National Living Wage would come to £22,000.
The average salary for full-time employees in the UK sits at £37,430.
Nearly three quarters (73%) of actors and 68% of stage management reported having few or no savings, while 73% of performers said they lose sleep due to money worries.
Of those surveyed, some 69% of actors and 59% of those involved in stage management struggle with everyday living costs.
Many respondents highlighted the issues of upfront costs of pursuing work, such as headshots, training, self-tapes and travel before paid work is found.
Actor and chair of Actors’ Trust Alex Macqueen said the research “confirms what many in the industry have known for years, but it also exposes just how widespread and severe the problem has become.
“This financial instability doesn’t just affect those already in the profession – it creates a barrier to entry for talented individuals from working-class backgrounds, which risks excluding voices and perspectives that are vital to our cultural landscape.”
In an industry that “thrives on diversity and lived experience”, Macqueen said the structural financial challenges must be addressed to avoid “narrowing the very stories the performing arts should be telling”.
‘A sobering reminder’
Carried out between June and July last year, the research shows 58% of actors and 64% of stage management professionals are more likely than average to come from professional backgrounds, which the report said highlighted the “persistent barriers to entry for those form working-class families”.
Some of the key problems facing actors alongside financial insecurity were found to be irregular hours, work-life balance and a lack of career progression.
Meanwhile nearly eight in ten (79%) of those in stage management said their work makes it difficult to sustain personal relationships.
Strains on professionals’ mental health echo previous Actors’ Trust findings, which said approximately three quarters of actors experienced a problem with their mental health such as depression or anxiety, while 27% told researchers they had had thoughts they would be better off dead or of hurting themselves in the last year – above the national average.
The Actors’ Trust has now introduced grants to cover new headshots offered to those who have experienced an illness which has changed their appearance.
Actor and ambassador for the charity Chris Eccleston said the report felt “less like statistics and more like stories I’ve heard and lived throughout my career”.
“It’s a sobering reminder that success in this professional is often far more fragile than it appears,” he added.