Cast member vs background actor

The differences between cast members and background actors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a background actor has an average salary of $52,647, which is higher than the $29,039 average annual salary of a cast member.

The top three skills for a cast member include customer service, guest safety and guest service. The most important skills for a background actor are production assistants, CSI, and tv show.

Cast member vs background actor overview

	Cast Member	Background Actor
Yearly salary	$29,039	$52,647
Hourly rate	$13.96	$25.31
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	79,789	302
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	-	-

Cast member vs background actor salary

Cast members and background actors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cast Member	Background Actor
Average salary	$29,039	$52,647
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $37,000	Between $24,000 And $112,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between cast member and background actor education

There are a few differences between a cast member and a background actor in terms of educational background:

	Cast Member	Background Actor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Business	Communication
Most common college	-	-

Cast member vs background actor demographics

Here are the differences between cast members' and background actors' demographics:

	Cast Member	Background Actor
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6%	Male, 60.9% Female, 39.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.6% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 6.3% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 13.1% Unknown, 7.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	19%	19%

Differences between cast member and background actor duties and responsibilities

Cast member example responsibilities.

Lead the team by exemplify reliability through punctuality and personal integrity.
Ring up guest, while upselling and ensuring the business operates efficiently and profitably.
Promote to transportation organizer, insuring rapid & continuous bus transportation between home resorts & parks.
Meet sales expectations through loyalty card sales, suggestive selling, upselling, merchandising, and sampling.
Fast learner and adaptable when rotate to other areas such as the theme parks and other hotel resorts.
Train in several locations, the use of POS systems, and handle cash with little to no managerial supervisor

Background actor example responsibilities.

Act in productions and lead performing arts and drama workshops for local schools and organizations.
Work with other crewmembers responsible for lighting, costumes, makeup, and props.
Self-Start as an actor and performer in various comedy, drama and horror films and television shows.
Content include radio, television and Internetadvertisements, video games and documentaries.
Model Ferragamo, Armani, Versace.

Cast member vs background actor skills

Common cast member skills

Customer Service, 29%
Guest Safety, 15%
Guest Service, 9%
POS, 6%
Excellent Guest, 4%
Exceptional Guest, 4%

Common background actor skills

Production Assistants, 18%
CSI, 15%
TV Show, 12%
ABC, 11%
Body Movements, 9%
Feature Film, 8%

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Cast Member vs Background Actor

Updated January 8, 2025

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