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What is deferred pay?
Answer: Getting paid acting work is a very satisfying accomplishment, especially when that paycheck shows up. Getting paid acting work where you have to wait anywhere from a few weeks to forever to get paid is slightly less satisfying, but… (continued in David’s answer below)
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Answer: Getting paid acting work is a very satisfying accomplishment, especially when that paycheck shows up. Getting paid acting work where you have to wait anywhere from a few weeks to forever to get paid is slightly less satisfying, but producers have that option – under certain conditions.
Payment for doing an acting job can be effected with many different types of currency. I’m not talking about different countries and their money, I’m talking about what’s important to you in your career at the moment you take a job.
Often, early in an actor’s career, when you’re trying to build up your credits, thicken the resume with work that shows a casting director you can be trusted on the set or stage, you’re going to be attracted to anything that gets you near a camera. You not only want to build your resume, you also want to build your reel.
We talk in another article about compensation here on Acting Answers about what “copy/credit/meals” means, and as we noted, that doesn’t usually include money. The next higher level of compensation that might include cash in your pocket, is in a project where you’ll get paid when the project makes money. That’s called deferred pay.
In essence, when you take a role in a project offering deferred pay, you’re not only looking to get experience, another credit, networking with the cast and crew and potentially some nice footage for your reel, you’re also hoping that the project is successful, the producers make a profit, and you, at that point, receive a paycheck for your work.
To be blunt, that rarely comes to pass. Most attempts at putting together a production that is underfunded enough that the cast and crew can’t be paid, also lack the funds to properly advertise, promote and market the project. That spells disaster. And it also means that, in the end, no one gets paid.
But, on rare occasions, things do work out well. I once had a member of the cast of Napoleon Dynamite on my radio show. The actor, Shondrella Avery, who played Kip’s girlfriend, Lafawndu, in the film, related her absolute joy at getting the call from Jon Heder, the lead and producer, that they’d sold the film and she had a pretty hefty paycheck waiting for her. She said, “Usually, you just do these little projects and forget about them.”
Your union status will determine the rules for offering and accepting a role in a project where deferred pay is offered. SAG and AFTRA have language in their contracts that call for their members to get paid first when money starts coming in. Non-union projects have no such rules, so keen negotiation is important.
That same keen negotiation can be brought to bear when signing a union contract with deferred pay as well. Usually, there’s a nominal daily pay amount for low budget, indie and web-based projects, on the order of $100 a day or so. There’s nothing to stop you from making a change in your contract when you sign your paperwork, striking the $100 and inserting the current daily scale wage or more. I always ask if I can do that, and since it doesn’t cost the producer anything more at that moment, they usually say yes.
Just be clear that deferred pay doesn’t mean delayed pay – it means pay that will be yours should the project have appreciable income, make a profit and have a budget to pay you. Don’t count on it, but do watch the project’s progress – DVD sales, Netflix and other on-demand services and internet play all mean money for the producers, and potentially, you.
What’s your answer to this acting question? Let me know in the comments below.
I’m producing a SAG New Media short and I just have a question about the deferred payment deal. I just wonder if I would still need an I-9 Form for set to certify the citizenship of the actors and that they can work on project? I asked SAG New Media and the guy i spoke to didn’t seem to know. I’m filming in almost a week so it’d be nice if you could get back to me ASAP.
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LikeDislikeYour SAG-AFTRA rep will tell you these answers – usually, yes, you need that, but I’d call the person you worked with (or anyone at SAG-AFTRA if you filled out the forms online).
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LikeDislikeWorking on a ultra low budget feature which offers, perhaps, some real chance of merchandising revenue, i.e., t-shirts, caps, coffee mugs, etc. Producer seems willing to at least discuss this possibility for cast and production crew. What would make sense for me to ask?
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LikeDislikeThanks for this work
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