I am curious. On our journey as actors not very many of us make much money right away in this highly competitive field. So what are some of the best and flexible sources of income you have found to help you on your journey?
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I started acting in 2023 and bartending was the go to survival job. I came from the oil and gas industry where I spent 20 years traveling and working on offshore pipelay vessels. I recently went back to oil and gas and am using my 2 week rotations off to make films and act. The money I make is being used to fund films and my production company.
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Uber/Lyft driver. Food delivery. Trivia host. Event server. catering gigs. bartender, barista. There are a lot of gig work apps out now, so it's a lot easier than it was 25-30 years ago to find side gigs.
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There’s the classic rule: if you’re a film actor, get an evening and weekend job; if you’re a theatre actor, get a day job. What has helped me tremendously is also working as a film editor and screenwriter, both of which have paid well, kept me in the industry, and made me a better actor. They’ve also helped producers and directors see me as more than “just an actor,” which arguably shouldn’t be necessary, but I’ve found people want to see the human behind the acting. They want to know what else you love, what you’re talented at, and what you bring into the room besides a memorized scene and the ability to cry near a lamp. My advice is to find flexible work that pays the bills, but when possible, choose something that also feeds the artist.
Great insight Joshua Young . I agree that multi-hyphenates are becoming more prominent in today's landscape. Being a swiss army knife in the industry is a huge plus!
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Living in a small country gave me a chance to make ends meet with acting early on. And it also gave me a chance early in my career to gather experience in various projects - from big roles in feature films, episodic roles on TV, theatre roles in many genres, dubbing, radio plays, even TV hosting. Also living in a small country got me to experience big Hollywood sets filming in Europe. So I always admire actors in big hubs like LA, New York or London who need to have other jobs to support their career. I can only imagine how hard it is to focus on acting and perfecting your skill if most of the day you spend doing something completely different.