Luke Cook Reveals Shockingly Low Income as an Actor Amid Strike: ‘Can’t Make Enough Money to Live’
17.07.2023 - 18:37
/ usmagazine.com
Amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, Luke Cook offered a candid glimpse into how much he earned as an actor over the years.
“So, SAG actors are going on strike, what does that mean? My name is Luke Cook — I am an actor from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Katy Keene, Dynasty, Dollface and I am not a millionaire,” Cook, 36. explained in a TikTok video posted on Friday, July 14. “I drive a 2010 Mazda and my previous car was a 2006 Ford Taurus. 95 percent of people in SAG cannot make a living from acting, they have to have side hustles. I am one of those actors.”
He continued: “The actors who you are thinking of — who are the millionaires — are usually series regulars or A-listers in big movies. The actors who surround them though are actors like myself — guest stars, costars, etc. We are paid chips.”
As an example, Cook broke down his income for playing Fender in four episodes of Hulu’s Dollface. “I did a show called Dollface last year and they put me on a billboard on Sunset [Boulevard]. Do you know how much they paid me to be on the billboard? Zero [dollars],” he said. “The amount they paid me to be on the show was not much better.”
Cook, who shares two kids with wife Kara Wilson, also noted that he doesn’t see most of his paycheck, adding, “I get paid per episode which is two weeks of work [and it came out to] $7,500. Then it is taxed and a manager takes 10 percent, an agent takes 10 percent and a lawyer takes 5 percent. I am one line below a series regular who is maybe making $100,000, sometimes per episode. They are very wealthy and they are worth it.”
The S.W.A.T. alum went on to show his support for the SAG-AFTRA union.
“Huge portion of this strike is about people like me who need to be paid more for the work that they