Mandy Moore Reflects on ‘Lean Years’ in Hollywood, Explains How She Survived on Residual Paychecks
Mandy Moore is sharing more details on why actors depend on residual paychecks following her candid comments about her minuscule This Is Us sum.
“Ours is a fickle industry and in my 20+ years of being a performer, my career has ebbed and flowed,” Moore, 39, wrote via her Instagram on Wednesday, July 19. “I’ve had very lean years where I couldn’t get a job and those are precisely the moments when in years past, actors could rely on residuals from their past work to help them get by. The world and business have changed and I’m hoping we can find a meaningful solution moving forward.”
While Moore — who has been acting since she was a teenager — acknowledged that she knows she is currently in a “profoundly lucky and rarified position” as she found success as an adult, she does not take it for granted nor assumes that she’ll be in the same financial situation “forever.”
“The trickle-down effect felt across so many industries is already devastating,” Moore continued. “I am one person — a tiny part of our guild — and while I am happy to use whatever platform my past jobs have given me to speak to issues affecting my fellow @sagaftra family, I know my experience is my own.”
She concluded: “Here’s hoping we get a fair contract soon so we can get back to doing the jobs we all love and miss so much.”
Several hours earlier, Moore revealed the specific monetary amount that she receives whenever viewers rewatch episodes of NBC’s This Is Us on streaming platforms.
“The residual issue is a huge issue,” Moore told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, July 18, while participating on the SAG-AFTRA picket line in Los Angeles. “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.”
Moore — who played matriarch Rebecca Pearson on This Is Us for six seasons, which concluded in 2022 — further noted that she receives “very tiny, like, 81-cent checks” in streaming residuals.
While neither NBC nor streaming platforms have addressed Moore’s comments, she has been on the picket line since Friday, July 14, where she even reunited with her This Is Us costars Chrissy Metz and Jon Huertas.
The SAG-AFTRA union, which represents more than 160,000 performers, voted earlier this month to go on strike after the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) did not agree to any of their terms during contract negotiations. SAG-AFTRA, led by president Fran Drescher, are fighting for fair wages regarding residual checks, specific guidelines about the use of artificial intelligence of their likeness and more.
