Whether or not acting pays well depends on how successful you are, frankly. Actors in studio movies earn anywhere from $65,000 to $20,000,000 a picture1, based on their role, the film’s budget, and its box office success.
On the other end of the spectrum, you’ll find Actors who work at theme parks, small theatres, and in indie film productions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for those Actors was approximately $20.43 an hour.2 Of course, with such an extreme disparity in the wages earned by a beginner Actor and a world-famous superstar, it’s very difficult to accurately track what the median pay for Actors is.