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The glitz and glamour of Hollywood make it seem like TV and movie actors lead lives of luxury behind the scenes. But as the writers and actors strikes have shown, there’s a lot more financial struggle than one might think.
“Financial restraints have shaped every aspect of my life,” actor Jen Tullock explained on Yahoo Finance’s Living Not So Fabulously (see video above or listen below).
Tullock, who is known for her roles as Devon on Apple TV’s “Severance” and Anita St. Pierre in the HBO series “Perry Mason,” revealed that even when the work is consistent, there are plenty of out-of-pocket expenses associated with maintaining a presence in Hollywood that dig into those large paychecks.
“You could be making more money — which is great — but you’re paying lawyers, managers, agents, publicists, sometimes stylists out of pocket,” she explained. “Those things sound elective or by choice, but they’re not always. Those are all things that you need to keep the train going. So it’s like the more you make, the more you have to make to keep it up.”
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She admitted that on more than one occasion, she ran out of money on the path to success.
“The greatest shame I’ve ever experienced in my life has been around money,” she admitted. “I did run out of money. I did sleep in my car a couple times, and I did not have any resources.”
Tullock also noted that despite being part of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), her health insurance is tied to her quarterly earnings as an actor, meaning she could lose coverage if she’s not healthy enough to continue working.
“I’ll speak for only for myself,” she said, “but you could be in a situation where you’re on a successful show and maybe you’ve just shot a string of successful things — a big studio movie, and a couple of shows — but then if you have a hiatus where you’re not shooting, … you could be on the highest-grossing show in the country and still lose your health insurance because you didn’t technically have enough coming in for that quarter to maintain it.”
Tullock said that similar “worst-case scenario” moments made her realize how important resources like therapy can be for finding stability in her relationship with money.
“It took me years to get to the point where, in a moment of financial tumult, I didn’t go into total … fight or flight,” Tullock said.
Every Wednesday, dive into real money stories from the LGBTQ community with podcast hosts David and John Auten-Schneider. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service.
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