Barkhad Abdi And The Financial Reality Of Hollywood

Barkhad Abdi And The Financial Reality Of Hollywood
HOLLYWOOD, CA - MARCH 02: Actor Barkhad Abdi attends the Oscars held at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)
HOLLYWOOD, CA - MARCH 02: Actor Barkhad Abdi attends the Oscars held at Hollywood & Highland Center on March 2, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

Something that always irks me is when I hear black people talking about how some black actor or actress in some movie, is supposedly making “big money”. The reality is that, most times, unless they are a bona fide "A"-lister, or a steadily working character actor, they’re not.

In fact, in a lot of cases, they’re just barely getting by. And add to that, other financial obligations that drain their earnings, such as agent’s or manager’s percentage fees, PR, wardrobe and makeup people, the costs of continually maintaining an image etc. A lot of actors are lucky to have anything left, after all is said and done.

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