How Much Celebrities Earn in Residual Checks by the Numbers

Many working actors earn residual paychecks anytime {that a} TV present they appeared on air in reruns.

Such sums even assist stars akin to Mandy Moore and Glen Powell pay their residing bills between jobs.

“Ours is a fickle business and in my 20+ years of being a performer, my profession has ebbed and flowed,” Moore, who has been performing since she was an adolescent, wrote by way of Instagram in July 2023. “I’ve had very lean years the place I couldn’t get a job and people are exactly the moments when in years previous, actors might depend on residuals from their previous work to assist them get by.”

Powell, for his half, tweeted that very same month that he used to outlive on residuals “for years” when he was nonetheless trying to “make it as a working actor.”

Many actors have since seen their residual verify quantities dwindle with the onset of streaming platforms. As a result of staggeringly low quantities, members of the SAG-AFTRA performing union known as out the Alliance of Movement Image and Tv Producers (AMPTP) for refusing to compromise on higher phrases relating to residual checks throughout contract negotiations. In consequence, the SAG actors went on strike in July 2023 shortly after the Writers Guild of America stood up for related causes.

Preserve studying to learn how a lot the celebrities actually make in residuals:

Mandy Moore

Milo Ventimiglia Mandy Moore Winter Cold Beard Smile

Milo Ventimiglia as Jack and Mandy Moore as Rebecca in ‘This Is Us.’
Ron Batzdorff/NBC

Moore has obtained 81-cent checks for streaming residuals of This Is Us, the Emmy-winning drama that she starred in between 2016 and 2022. “I used to be speaking with my enterprise supervisor who stated he’s obtained a residual for a penny and two pennies,” she instructed The Hollywood Reporter on the picket traces in July 2023.

Robert Carradine

The Lizzie McGuire alum — who performed Hilary Duff’s onscreen father on the Disney Channel collection — as soon as obtained a residual verify in August 2019 for $0. Whereas Carradine didn’t reveal what program the verify was for, it had been despatched by Walt Disney Footage. (Along with Lizzie, Carradine has starred in a number of different Disney initiatives.)

Carradine’s Lizzie McGuire costars have additionally seen equally low residuals. Davida Williams, who performed cheerleader Claire Miller, revealed on her Lizzie McGuire recap podcast in March 2023 that she often will get a sum of $3.50 or much less.

“It was, like, you’d should take this enormous stack of checks each month for residuals over to the financial institution and deposit them,” Jake Thomas (a.okay.a. Lizzie’s little brother Matt) chimed in on the time. “However the enormous stack could be like, ‘Oh, this can be a huge stack. That is $8.’”

Kendrick Sampson

Sampson, who starred as Nathan on HBO’s Insecure between 2018 and 2021, obtained 56 residual checks in July 2023. Nonetheless, they solely totaled $86, which was not sufficient to cowl his month-to-month payments, which he shared on Instagram.

William Stanford Davis

Davis, who is thought for his position as Mr. Johnson on ABC’s Abbott Elementary, revealed by way of Instagram in July 2023 that he as soon as acquired a verify for five cents. “The postage, the paper, every little thing prices greater than that. That’s what they consider us as actors,” he stated on the time. “This is the reason we’re on strike for higher wages, for higher residuals [and] for a bit of the subscription.”

Kimiko Glenn

Kimiko Glenn on Orange is the New Black How Much Celebrities Earn in Residual Checks by the Numbers

Kimiko Glenn as Brook Soso in ‘Orange within the New Black.’
JoJo Whilden/Netflix

Glenn, who performed inmate Brook Soso on Orange Is The New Black, confirmed off a handful of residual paystubs by way of TikTok in July 2023. They solely amounted to $27.

Constance Marie

Marie shared a duplicate of her paystubs by way of TikTok in July 2023, noting she’s gotten between 3 cents and 74 cents in residuals for repeat viewings of Freeform’s Switched at Beginning. (Marie was one of many principal characters on the present for 5 years, even sustaining an damage from extreme American Signal Language use.)

Heather Matarazzo

The Princess Diaries star clapped again at TikTok followers’ assertions that she was wealthy by displaying her residuals. A number of of the checks had been lower than 10 cents every.

Jana Schmieding

How Much Celebrities Earn in Residual Checks by the Numbers

Jana Schmieding as Bev, Tamara Podemski as Teenie, Sarah Podemski as Rita, and Natalie Stadingcloud as Natalie on ‘Reservation Canine.’
Shane Brown/FX

“To followers of my character Bev on Reservation Canine, right here’s a peek behind the IHS counter at what a part of my residuals appears to be like like for performing on a present that I really like,” Schmieding tweeted in July 2023. “I pull in $.03 every quarter for UNLIMITED worldwide streams on fx/hulu/DISNEY.”

Brandee Evans

Evans, who’s finest recognized for her position as Mercedes Woodine on P-Valley, acquired three residual checks in July 2023 for $3.99, $4.67 and 1 cent, respectively.