NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Your kid is cute, precocious, and has that special sparkle in his eyes. He may be 5, but he already knows how to spell H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D.
The idea of making Junior a star may sound appealing. But is he ready for his first job? And are you ready for a second one?
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| Gideon Jacobs on set with Robin Williams in "The House Of D." |
The challenges of creating and managing a child actor's career are substantial. For one thing, competition is stiff. About 7,000 young performers are members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the largest of the three actors unions.
What individual performers earn varies. Although it does not tally earnings by age, SAG estimates that 70 percent to 75 percent of all its members make less than $11,000 year. That suggests that the number of kids making much money from acting is in the hundreds, at best.
Even so, modest success can bulk up a child's college savings fund.
Actors are paid a minimum $535 daily sitting fee, or scale, to appear in a SAG commercial and earn residuals each time the commercial airs. A national spot with a 13-use guarantee could bring in more than $15,000 if the commercial is consistently aired for two or more years, based on SAG's wage agreements.
For acting on a TV show or movie, the guaranteed minimum is $678 per day. Again, residuals kick in each time the performance airs.
If you really want to dream, however, consider the top end of the spectrum. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who turn 18 this June, each made about $9 million last year, according to Forbes.
Hard work for the folks
A child's acting career requires quite a bit of effort from a parent.
"I tell parents this is not an after-school activity," said Bonnie Shumofsky, a New York-based agent for Abrams Artists, whose clients include former Dell dude Ben Curtis and Pepsi pitchgirl Hallie Kate Eisenberg. "You have to be able to take your children to auditions."
Scurrying around your little ones is real work. If both parents hold jobs, one is going to need to adjust his or her schedule to accommodate the child's auditions.
Psychologist Vivian Jacobs became a showbiz mom by accident. After visiting her son Gideon's kindergarten class, a talent scout asked the boy to audition for a major role in the film "One Fine Day." He didn't get that part, but the film's director gave him a smaller role and suggested that the family find Gideon an agent or personal manager.
A friend's referral brought Jacobs to Jackie Reid, a personal manager, who started working with both Gideon and his brother and sister. Within a few months, the kids had booked half a dozen national commercials including a brother-sister spot for Life Cereal.
Today, Jacobs balances her professional commitments with her children's schedule by working part-time. She sees her last patient around 2:00 p.m., so that she is free to leave the office an hour later.
The kid must be motivated
Gideon, now 14, still works with Jackie Reid, and freelances with several commercial agents, including the agency Jordan, Gill & Dornbaum. He is also represented by Don Buchwald & Associates for film and theatrical work.
His 16-year-old sister, Jordana, still auditions but younger brother, Gabriel, 10, cut back on auditioning to concentrate on athletics.
"He made that decision with our support," Jacobs said of Gabriel, a ranked tennis player in the USTA junior division. "If you follow your child's lead they seem to enjoy it."
Often, you have no choice. "Once a kid doesn't want to do it, no matter what the parent wants, it is not going to happen," said Marlene Wallach, president of Willy Kids, a unit of Wilhelmina Models.
Also know that finding a good agent doesn't guarantee instant success. Making it to the top depends on several things, the least of which may be talent.
"I have a client who was with me for 2-1/2 to 3 years before he booked anything. The mom was ready to give up," Shumofsky said. "I told her: 'Do me a favor, stick with this. He will be a star.'"
By the way, that kid was Liam Aiken, who starred opposite Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon in "Stepmom." He's currently working on "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events."
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