What does it cost to hire an actor for a day?
In shooting an independent film, every actor has a different fee and a different rate. Some work for scale, which is sort of the union minimum, and others demand certain perks in addition to their services, like not only do you have to pay for them to act, but you've got to pay for their mother to come to New York, and you've got to pay for their hairstylist and their publicist, and just who knows what else. So every actor has a different asking price and most actors, most great big name actors are willing to lower their fees and lower their costs to be in an independent film, because they believe in the subject matter. They believe in the role and the opportunity. Oftentimes actors do independent films as a favour to the filmmaker. If you have a family friend who happens to be a big Hollywood star, you call him and he does a scene in your little independent movie or your student film. And that's the independent filmmaker being resourceful and getting actors to do them favours. There's two reasons why an actor should do an independent film. One, as a favour to the filmmaker, or two, because it's a role that they can really sink their teeth into and show another side of their craft.
