One of the greatest things about being a professional actor is the residuals. You’ll love it when you get your first one. Of course, actors get paid–you know that. Well, residuals are royalty payments that are owed to you every time the project you were on re-runs on television (pay per view, premium and basic cable channels, etc.) or sells in video retail outlets (DVD movie sales) such as Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc. This also includes commercial runs and you also get residuals on the Internet based projects you were in. Cool, ain’t it? It’s not uncommon for an actor to get a check in the mail for something they were in five, ten or even twenty years ago! Movies and hit television shows seem to never die and this is a good thing for you.
But before you relax and think it’ll be smooth sailing for you, know that you must work a lot for you to simply live off your residuals. Not too many actors can live off their residuals. Of course, if you were Jerry Seinfeld–that’d be a different story. Residual amounts dwindle over time. The more they show your project, the less you get. In other words, you will not be getting top dollar (like your first payment) on residuals. But that’s okay, it’ll be fun to watch yourself one day on television and know that you’re getting paid for it. Depending on how much you were intially paid, your residuals can help you pay your rent or motgage, pay for a dinner for two, fill up your gas tank, or help you put money away for a rainy day.
