13 Reasons Why star Tommy Dorfman revealed that she earned less than $30,000 (£23,240) before taxes and fees for shooting the Netflix show’s first season.
She is known for portraying Ryan Shaver in the series and, as a member of the SAG-AFTRA actor’s union, is currently on strike.
“My earnings for the entire first season of 13 Reasons Why were $29,953.24 prior to agency and manager fees (20%) and taxes,” Dorfman wrote on Threads on 24 July. “8 episodes over six months.”
The 31-year-old continued: “I did all of the promo and had KEY ART for this show, flew round trip from NYC to SF to shoot for every episode, was kept for days without pay/working. I barely qualified for insurance.”
According to figures from 2020, actors in the guild must earn at least $25,950 (£20,100) in a year – including seasonal and residual earnings – in order to qualify for health plan benefits.
“This is why we strike”
Tommy noted that the show garnered 476 million hours in views within its first 28 days of release.
“This is why we strike,” she concluded.
13 Reasons Why was renewed for a second season almost immediately after its highly successful debut, which Tommy went on to star in.
READ MORE: Tommy Dorfman says trans people are facing “targeted eradication” in the US
Its fourth and final season arrived on Netflix in 2020, with the salaries of some cast members reportedly reaching hundreds of thousands per episode by that time.
Earlier this month, talks between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers came to a halt after 35 days of negotiations.
Basic pay, streaming residuals and the potential threat of artificial intelligence were some of the key sticking points that led to a historic strike of the actors’ union and the Writers Guild of America that is currently disrupting the film and television industry.
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