Thousands of aspiring actors flock to Hollywood every year in pursuit of their dreams. Whether it is to get a break on a new sitcom or become the leading lady in a blockbuster, many of these actors do not understand the percentage of people who actually get big.
“Making it big” may mean something different to you than to another actor. However, most of us think of people such as Leonardo Di Caprio or Angelina Jolie when imagining a famous actor. These are the A-List of the thespian world and, as you can guess, they are part of a very illustrious yet small group of successful actors.
The general consensus is that a very small percentage of actors make it big. This number remains close to Samuel Arbesman’s calculations in which only 0.04% of the overall acting population become famous. In reality, it could be even less.
Currently, A-Listers make up about 0.0002% of SAG-AFTRA members. This is the union of movie and TV actors. If we included actors who make a reasonable living from their profession, the percentage could be a fraction higher but this doesn’t include those who are “big.”
However, just to become a SAG-AFTRA member, an actor requires certain credentials already such as three days as a background artist or one day in a SAG-AFTRA production. If all of the actors who do not qualify for this union or do not have an agent are included too, then the proportion of those who make it big becomes even smaller.
Although Arbesman’s findings were quite accurate, there are some drawbacks to his study. He only focused on famous actors who had a Facebook page and this is rather a low number. For most people, fame doesn’t come into their equations. Most individuals who work as doctors, dentists, or supermarket check-out clerks simply aim to maintain their jobs and then retire. Therefore, the number of people in the general population who can become famous as an actor is close to zero.
As for English-speaking actors whose goal is to become famous and work towards this every day, Arbesman’s findings could significantly underrepresent the total number who succeed.