# Actors who slum it



## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

From SF Gate:

*Actors who slum it*


> Actors live with the constant fear that permanent unemployment is just around the corner, which is why they are more likely than most to take jobs that are beneath their talents. Sometimes they take a role strictly for the money. Sometimes they take a role because they just want to remain in the public eye, even if it involves wallowing in trash. Often it's both.
> 
> But it's particularly unsettling when we come across a distinguished actor slumming for the dough, especially when it's somebody who has brought us a great deal of enjoyment over the years because of their wealth of talent and their large reservoir of integrity. It's a hard reality for us cinephiles to accept, even though logic tells us that banks foreclose on mansions, too, so the fat paycheck for appearing in dreck is sometimes a necessary evil.


FULL ARTICLE HERE


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Interesting article, Mark. I am in agreement with the writer's choices as I have none
of those masterpieces in my film library nor have I viewed any of them. I may watch
RV if it makes it to a movie channel later on, but only because of Robin Williams.

Being an actor must be somewhat like working through a temp agency. Certainly,
one has the prerogative of turning down jobs, but paying the bills often dictates
taking work that is 'beneath' one's abilities. 

If I were to chart my own checkered 'career' path over the 50 years of my working
life, it would more resemble a graph of the nation's economy than a straight line of
orderly progression. At one particularly painful juncture on the 1970s, I went from
being a banker to being self-employed to unemployment to working the night shift
in a distribution warehouse where workers possessing a high school diploma were
considered over-qualified.

In one sense, I have to respect the actor who takes work some fans may consider
beneath his or her talents. Work is work, and frankly, making (more) money is the
bottom line for most of us, including those whom we mere mortals may perceive as
well off. I'm sure that the price of living in a movie star's world can be staggering.

Taking lesser work isn't always an easy decision and pride is a hard pill to swallow,
but as in my own situation, watching one's family go without is infinitely more painful.


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

I parallell Nick on this one. I was downsized from the brokerage business in the '70's and eventually wound up with a straight commission job in the pro audio business. It's amazing what you will do when on straight commission to add to the pay check. Reality hits when you bring home a two week check for $50.00. While I can't say that I ever lived above my means, I suspect that that is the case with MANY, if not most, actors, rock stars, etc. I'd be willing to bet that most of the mentioned pix were simply done to get the paycheck to pay off some overdue bills.


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

OTOH you have someone like Lindsey Lohan who appears in an Indie film like Prairie Home Companion to give her resume a little credibility. Thank goodness Meryl Streep evidently made enough for her roles in She-Devil and The Devil Wears Prada that she could take her role in PHC.


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