Mandy Moore was one of the picketers at the Disney picket line over in Burbank today, and she didn’t hold back the truth about her earnings from This Is Us. Although she headlined the show for six seasons to rave response, Moore revealed that the hit series hasn’t been a steady source of income since it ended.
The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Moore from the picket lines, where the actress disclosed that she was used to receiving residual payments of just “very tiny, like 81-cent checks” for the NBC series. “I was talking with my business manager who said he’s received a residual for a penny and two pennies,” she added.
The actress expanded on this point and explained that this residual system used to keep actors afloat through lean times. “The residual issue is a huge issue,” Moore said. “We’re in incredibly fortunate positions as working actors having been on shows that found tremendous success in one way or another … but many actors in our position for years before us were able to live off of residuals or at least pay their bills.”
Residual payments are a huge point of contention in the ongoing strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Though actors receive residual payments for every rebroadcast of a program in which they played a part, they do not receive residuals from streams in the same way. In fact, in a response to SAG-AFTRA’s demands, the AMPTP flat-out refused to acknowledge the guild’s demands for streaming residuals.
The threat this poses to the 160,000-member union is significant. Most actors don’t have a constantly- steady stream of work, so the residual system allowed for the industry to become a viable career choice. In between roles, actors at least had residuals coming in.
The AMPTP’s unwillingness to acknowledge this fact threatens the entire industry because, well, streaming is the future. Cable is almost gone the way of the dodo. Residuals aren’t what they once were — a pretty common concern amidst the cost of living crisis we’re in — and streaming services have been scrutinized for their apparent inability to share the profits of the industry.
For an actress of Moore’s caliber to be receiving penny paychecks is laughable. Moore’s had a career for thirty years now; if that’s the payment she’s receiving, what’s a lesser-known actor making? At the end of the day, the ethics of withholding streaming residuals is highly dubious. Actors deserve to be paid their fair share; what’s the downside? Does an executive make a few million less a year?