Screen Actor

PLAN B BY BY JAMES SZABO

Job Overview

Actors do not have set work hours. How much you work depends on the film or TV show you are starring in. The work you do also depends on your role and character in said film and TV show. Working can be recording scenes, going over lines, building character physically and personality wise, and rehearsals. These things together can take years to complete. A movie set for a scene in the movie Inception.

Working Conditions

Actors dont have set hours for filming, but they have contracts in which a week or any number of days is for filming. You dont stop filming unless the episode or scene is complete, if there are technical difficulties, the producers goal is met, and if you are exhausted or injured. Risks include stunts, dangerous sets, and improperly handled filming equipment. You will also need to be quite resilient to negative comments directed at yourself, because everyone has an opinion. Clothing would be provided in the form of costumes and determined by the scene being filmed.

Daniel Craig did this dangerous train fight scene himself and did not use his stuntman.

Salary

The minimum rate for a film actor in a moderately budgeted film is $842 daily and 2,921 weekly. For an actor in a low budgeted film the average rate is $504 daily and $1,752 weekly. A TV actor playing a major role on a half hour show must be paid $4,631 minimum for a 5 day rate. A TV actor playing a major role in a 1 hour show must be paid $7,510 minimum for an 8 day rate. These are only minimums as actors and their managers are able to freely negotiate higher rates, and are only limited by what the producer is willing to pay.

Tom Cruise was the highest earning actor between may 2011 and may 2012 with a whopping $75 million in total earnings.

Education Pathway

The program I would take to become an on screen actor would be the Acting for Film and Television program at Vancouver Film School. The program would take 2 full school years. You are required to take a course called the Acting Essentials Program, you must also submit an example of your post secondary acting experience. The total cost (which includes the acting essentials program) would cost around 28,000 dollars.

VFS graduates have been part in the production of big motion pictures such as Avatar, Iron Man 3, The Avengers, and Elysium.

Why Im Interested

The reason Im interested in becoming a screen actor is because I have used acting not only as entertainment, but also as an escape from my personal struggles. Since In our elementary school drama was a mandatory thing until grade 9 (our high school started in grade 8). Because it was a mandatory class I hated it. Until my parents had a falling out. It was then that I realised that acting as someone else would offer me an escape from my personal life. The more troubles that I faced the more I acted. With plenty of practice I finally decided that if my original plans of becoming a physicist dont work. Then Im going to give back to what made my childhood more bearable, acting.

When I was a kid Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of my main inspirations.