For actors, a useful side job is not simply one with a high hourly rate: it needs to leave room for auditions, callbacks, rehearsals, and bookings. These 25 options range from entertainment work to jobs outside the industry, but none is guaranteed to pay well. Earnings and schedule flexibility vary with location, experience, availability, credentials, and the terms of each job.
How to judge whether a side job works for an actor
Actors interviewed by SAG-AFTRA described earning money through background performance, production coordination, instruction, freelance office work, childcare, and other jobs. Those accounts are examples, not a directory of current openings or a comparison of typical take-home pay. In 2023, the Associated Press also reported on Hollywood workers using side jobs during exceptional strike conditions; those cases are not earnings forecasts for other workers.
May Marcinek, an actor quoted by SAG-AFTRA, described the priority plainly: “I chose jobs that were flexible so that the job never became more important than the acting.” Before accepting a role, weigh these factors:
- Schedule control: Can you accept or decline a shift when an audition or booking comes up?
- Income predictability: Are hours and pay dependable, or do they depend on bookings, customers, or sales?
- Local access: Is the work available nearby, and will travel time or costs eat into the benefit?
- Entry requirements: Does the job require credentials, training, equipment, platform approval, or a portfolio?
- Demands: Consider physical effort, emotional load, and how much energy the work leaves for acting.
- Cancellation terms: Find out whether a hold or scheduled shift is paid if the employer cancels.
- Career fit: Skills and contacts can be valuable, but not if the side job consistently crowds out auditions and creative work.
25 flexible side-job ideas for actors
The first 13 ideas below are job categories described in SAG-AFTRA or Associated Press reporting. The remaining 12 are plausible options whose availability, requirements, and terms depend on the location and employer or platform. Treat every item as a lead to investigate, not a promise of current work or a pay ranking.
#1 Best Overall
Entertainment and performance work
- Background performer: Work on a production as a background actor. Confirm whether you are actually booked, the call details, and what happens if the production cancels; being held available is not the same as having a paid booking.
- Commercial casting session direction: Assist with or direct performers during commercial casting sessions. Ask what experience is expected and how sessions are scheduled.
- Production coordination: Coordinate schedules, people, or logistics for a production. This can draw on organizational skills, but production timelines may collide with acting commitments.
- Voiceover work: Audition for voice projects that fit your voice and availability. Work can be project-based, so do not assume a steady stream of bookings. A USB microphone is an optional purchase for people choosing to record at home, not a prerequisite established for beginners.
- Children’s-event character performer: Perform fairy-tale or other characters at events. Check the event schedule, costume expectations, travel, and physical demands before committing.
Teaching, coaching, and demonstrations
- Rock-climbing instructor: Teach climbing if you have the skills and any qualifications the facility requires. Ask about training, safety responsibilities, and fixed class times.
- Acting or performance instruction: Teach a class or coach performers where your experience fits. Confirm whether preparation and follow-up time are paid.
- Tutoring: Tutor a subject you can teach competently. Private clients may offer scheduling control, while cancellations and student demand can make income uneven.
- Substitute teaching: Consider day-to-day school assignments only after checking local eligibility, credential, screening, and scheduling rules. Requirements vary by jurisdiction.
- Product demonstrations: Demonstrate cookware or appliances in retail or event settings. Ask whether shifts are fixed, whether travel is reimbursed, and whether pay depends on sales.
Office, creative, and skilled work
- Freelance office work: Take on administrative assignments such as scheduling, correspondence, or data handling. Project-based work may be easier to fit around auditions than a fixed shift, but deadlines still matter.
- Administrative assistance: Provide ongoing or temporary support to a business or individual. Set expectations about response times so urgent requests do not conflict with auditions or set calls.
- Bookkeeping: Help maintain financial records if you have the necessary skills. Agree on scope, deadlines, confidentiality, and the tools the client uses.
- Consulting: Advise clients in a field where you have demonstrable expertise. This is not automatically available to every actor; identify a specific service and client need before relying on it for income.
- Writing: Write articles, scripts, marketing copy, or other commissioned work suited to your skills. Establish deadlines and revision limits in advance.
- Appliance repair: Take repair work only if you have the relevant training and can meet applicable safety and licensing rules. A flexible schedule does not remove those requirements.
Events, care, and service work
- Photo booth operator: Operate a photo booth at events. Work may be concentrated on evenings and weekends, so check event hours, setup time, and transport needs.
- Event staffing: Work event shifts such as registration or guest assistance. Local opportunities and shift-cancellation terms vary; verify both before holding a date.
- Babysitting: Care for children for families who need occasional or recurring help. Agree on hours, responsibilities, emergency contacts, and cancellation terms.
- Dog sitting: Care for dogs in a client’s home or your own, depending on the arrangement. Confirm dates, animal-care needs, and whether you can leave for auditions or bookings.
- Bartending: Work hospitality shifts if you meet local age, licensing, or training requirements. Late hours and fixed rosters may affect the next day’s auditions or work.
Platform-based and hobby income
- Virtual assistance: Provide remote scheduling, inbox, or other administrative support. Clients may expect quick responses during business hours, so clarify availability before taking the work.
- Transcription: Convert audio into text if you can meet the required accuracy and turnaround time. Check the platform’s current terms and calculate unpaid time spent on screening or revisions.
- Rideshare or delivery work: These options may offer control over when to log on, but availability, eligibility, insurance, expenses, and earnings depend on the location and platform. Review current terms and estimate net income after costs.
- Sell images or handmade products: Actors have reported selling images or making custom goods. AP reported one writer sold about 40 custom snow globes at $299 apiece during the 2023 strikes; that single case is not a typical price, sales volume, or income expectation.
Protect your time and pay before taking a booking
Get the terms in writing
Before setting aside a date, ask whether you are booked or merely being held available, what the call or shift hours are, how pay is calculated, and what happens if the employer cancels. SAG-AFTRA’s background-work guidance warns: “The difference between being booked and being available is the difference between a paycheck and a ‘thanks anyway.’” Keep written confirmation when possible. Its guidance summarizes union-contract protections; check the agreement that applies to your production and membership status rather than assuming one rule covers every job.
Check rules that apply to you
Union performers should review the relevant union rules and contracts before accepting work that may be covered by an agreement or conflict with an obligation. The applicable rules can depend on the role, production, local, and contract. For teaching, repair work, substitute assignments, rideshare, delivery, and other regulated or platform-based options, verify local credentials, insurance, screening, tax responsibilities, and current platform terms before starting.
Keep the side job in its place
A side job can provide a financial base, but actors interviewed by SAG-AFTRA also described the risk that a business can draw attention away from creative work. Decide in advance how many hours or dates you can give it, and review that limit if it begins displacing auditions, preparation, or rest. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures quoted in SAG-AFTRA’s 2022 article—51,600 full-time actor jobs in the United States in 2020 and a projection of 32% employment growth from 2020 to 2030—are historical count and forecast figures, not current job totals or realized growth.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Sources and scope
- SAG-AFTRA, “The Side Job,” September 8, 2022
- SAG-AFTRA, “Booking Background,” May 30, 2018
- Associated Press, “Side hustles take center stage in paying bills for Hollywood workers on strike,” September 21, 2023
- SAG-AFTRA, Contracts & Industry Resources
These sources document individual examples and relevant guidance, not a current, comparable survey of typical net pay, reliability, or entry barriers across the 25 job categories. No universal ranking can establish which option pays well for a particular actor.
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