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Ed O’Neill and Rob Lowe Pissed Off About Low-Paying Acting Jobs

Jun 14, 2011  •  Post A Comment

Actors Ed O’Neill and Rob Lowe have "sounded off on low-paying actor jobs," reports The Hollywood Reporter. The two actors made their comments on THR’s annual Emmy Comedy Actor Roundtable, the article said.

Here’s what the two actors said, according to THR:

Ed O’Neill: I just had a thing last week where I thought for sure I was going to do a thing for HBO with Al Pacino and Bette Midler. Mamet directing. And I get the offer, six weeks work, I’m playing Bruce Cutler, [Phil Spector’s] lawyer, and they said ‘$40,000.’

Rob Lowe: “Ex-squeeze me?” (Laughs)

O’Neill: So I said, ‘I thought you said $40,000 for six weeks’ work.’ ‘Yeah.’ Scale. ‘Yeah.’ Is Al working for scale?’ ‘No.’ ‘Is Bette working for scale?’ ‘No.’ I said, ‘Well, good luck.’ Now, I’m not doing it.

Lowe: You can’t.

O’Neill: Of course I can’t do it. But then you say ‘Wait a minute, what the f—?’ You know. That lasts about three or four days. Then you say, ‘Well, I’m going to Hawaii.’ That happens all the time.

Lowe: You know why it happens? It’s because they know that at the end of the day we love good material. And they will use that to exploit us. And that’s — excuse me — bullshit.

14 Comments

  1. But its okay and that they demand regular Americans take low paying jobs @ fast food places so we can see their movies. Geez hollywood actors are so spoiled. $40k is more than what I made @ my last full time job year round job!

  2. Everything is relative, I suppose. But given that I haven’t had a $40K year in the last ten, it’s tough to empathize.

  3. As Jon88 says, everything is relative. They just don’t need to share these “hardship” stories with the press. I make about $8,000 in 6 weeks which is a nice amount of money, but I don’t go and bitch to people about it because I know many that make less than 1/2 of that.

  4. I apologize on behalf of all humanity for Ed O’Neill being offered such a paltry sum of money for some work.

  5. In defense of Ed, you don’t offer an actor of his established value scale, period. All you’ll do is make him angry, and the last thing any network needs is to earn a bad rep with talent. It’s a relationship business. Having said that, I’m sure the producers will find someone for the role, as many less established actors would kill to work with that cast on a high profile network.

  6. Dear Ed,
    I’ll take that gig. Give them my contact info and tell them I’ll do it for half of that. Greed won’t do you any favors.
    Thanks,
    Gov

  7. I understand that you should earn what you’re worth. And I don’t have a problem if someone makes several times what the average Joe makes. Just the same, someone should let these two know that it’s bad form to whine about being offered what’s considered to be just below the average annual salary for most Americans for 6 weeks of work. And, yes, what you’re being offered for 6 weeks of work is more than what I get paid a year for educating your children.

  8. I wish some employer would exploit me for six weeks for $40,000. That said, I understand Ed’s attitude, but Lowe sounds like whiner complaining about his “entitlements”.

  9. Dear Ed,
    When I last checked, you were NOT Al Pacino. There’s a reason he gets paid what he does and you got offered scale for what is, by your own admission, good material. It’s not all about you, Ed.
    Oh, and Rob, just shut the hell up. If Aaron Sorkin hadn’t hired you, you’d still be taking my order at Waffle House. If there’s anyone out there that should be grateful they still have a career, it’s YOU.

  10. What all of these actors need to remember is, that A-list or not, the economy is not doing well and they just might have to lower their salary standards a bit. I don’t even make $40,000 a year so I have a hard time feeling sorry for these two. The salaries that some actors and sports players get are obscene compared to what the rest of population manages to make so I think they need to appreciate the fact that someone is even offering them a job when a lot of other people don’t even have one.

  11. That’s why a lot of these “poor” actors are doing commerical work, to make up for the meger 40k @ 6 weeks. Sucks to be you E,. and for Rob Lowe – Community – really!!!?!

  12. Are you kidding me? Al Pacino worked for $85 a week on Broadway back when no other actors would lower themselves. He had the fame and money and was at the height of his career.He did it because of acting in Shakespeare. He is an actor not a celebrity. Your absence from HBO will not be missed. You’re just actors and mediocre ones at that. You won’t be missed and aren’t worth $40,000 a year let alone for six weeks. Get over yourselves.

  13. Gov- You don’t understand ‘scale’. That’s the floor under the contract that the network has with all actors.
    O’neil may not be at the top of the heap, but he certainly isn’t a beginner. He’s carried a series, more than once.
    He could show a bit more sensitivity in how he expressed it, but he was insulted by the offer, and it wasn’t because the number was forty- it was because the number was the least they could offer.
    No one, especially not you, can do the job for half scale.

  14. Gov- You don’t understand ‘scale’. That’s the floor under the contract that the network has with all actors.
    O’neil may not be at the top of the heap, but he certainly isn’t a beginner. He’s carried a series, more than once.
    He could show a bit more sensitivity in how he expressed it, but he was insulted by the offer, and it wasn’t because the number was forty- it was because the number was the least they could offer.
    No one, especially not you, can do the job for half scale.

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