Back in the early 1990s, Geoffrey Owens played Elvin Tibideaux on The Cosby Show. At the time, the show was a juggernaut hit, which might explain why, when someone spotted Owens working in a New Jersey Trader Joe鈥檚 this past summer, they were motivated to snap a photo and upload it to social media 鈥� a picture of a 鈥渇allen star鈥� reduced to working in a grocery store.
The photo went viral, and within a few days, Owens was fielding acting offers from producers like Tyler Perry and doing the talk show circuit.
鈥淚n the past 26 years, I have hardly ever had an acting job that lasted more than 10 weeks," Owens told CNN. "Most of those jobs were theatre jobs that pay a lot less than television and film.鈥� He capped off numerous interviews with the message that work is work, and 鈥渙ne job is not better than another."
Owens鈥� story is 鈥渧ery common,鈥� according to Keith Martin Gordey, president of the Union of B.C. Performers, an autonomous branch of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA).
The average annual income from acting for an ACTRA member is $15,000, says Gordey 鈥� the median income is $7,000. In North America, only 15 per cent of actors make a living solely on their performing income.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have an extra job, I don鈥檛 know how you clothe and feed and house yourself,鈥� says Gordey. 鈥淭he fact is, the vast majority of people who work as performers are probably below the poverty line.鈥�
Jovanna Burke was deeply moved by the media firestorm surrounding Owens because it was all too familiar.
鈥淵ou do what you have to do, and to be shamed for that is so hurtful, and so painful, on a level that I can鈥檛 even put into words,鈥� says the Vancouver-based actress, who was part of the team that won the 2015 Leo Award for Best Web Series for The True Heroines. 聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 the reality of what we do,鈥� Burke continues. 鈥淥ne day, you鈥檙e a lead on a series, and the next day, you鈥檙e starving to pay your bills. Some people can stay on a ride for a while, but it always dies. We work fairly consistently, but it鈥檚 not enough to hold us forever.鈥�
Burke has supplemented her acting income with jobs in bars and restaurants, as a publicist, and selling skin cream.
Ona Grauer 鈥� who worked steadily as an actress for 20 years on projects such as Intelligence, Archer and Stargate Universe 鈥� recently started hostessing in a Kitsilano restaurant.
Grauer makes no bones about how she feels about her restaurant job: she loves it, because it gives her the cash and the freedom to say no to acting roles that she considers degrading.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not downtrodden,鈥� says Grauer. 鈥淵ou didn鈥檛 end up in the gutter because you got an extra job. What you鈥檙e doing is making it in life, and however you do that is honourable.鈥�
But Grauer has observed how her presence in the restaurant confuses some customers.
鈥淚鈥檝e been recognized at work 鈥� 鈥楢re you on Stargate? Were you the girl on Arrow?鈥� 鈥� and I鈥檓 like, 鈥榊eah, that鈥檚 me!鈥� And they鈥檙e like, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 amazing.鈥� And then there鈥檚 a bit of, 鈥楤ut I鈥檝e seen you on TV 鈥� why are you working in a restaurant?鈥� It doesn鈥檛 bother me. I think the work is honourable no matter what you鈥檙e doing.鈥�
The confusion stems from widely held misconceptions about showbiz, says Burke.
鈥淏ecause of the way actors are treated on set and in the media, people think that when we鈥檙e working, we鈥檙e making so much coin,鈥� says Burke.
Those misconceptions around acting are often perpetuated by the actors themselves, according to Omari Newton. Newton is an award-winning actor (Continuum), teacher, writer and director.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an internal pressure for some reason amongst actors to perpetuate this idea that you鈥檙e always working and you鈥檙e flooded with offers, and it鈥檚 absurd,鈥� he says. He sees this on social media, where 鈥減eople who do one or two days on set and take 700 photos and they periodically post them throughout the year as if it鈥檚 new stuff.鈥�
This kind of behaviour can make other actors feel like they鈥檙e the only one who鈥檚 not working, says Newton, and it doesn鈥檛 jive with reality.
鈥淵ou hear stuff like, 鈥榁ancouver鈥檚 busier than ever!鈥� You don鈥檛 realize that production is busier than ever, but most of the major roles are still cast from out of town,鈥� says Newton. 鈥淚 think that puts a lot of emotional and psychological stress on actors where you think you should be working more, but it鈥檚 like, 鈥楴o dude, 85 per cent of actors need to have side work.鈥� It鈥檚 completely normal to not be Tom Cruise.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why people make acting so precious,鈥� adds Grauer. 鈥淚 think realistically it鈥檚 easier to get involved in an industry when you鈥檙e realistic about what being an adult is, and what working is, period.鈥�
