Kirk Acevedo may not be a household name, but the Hollywood veteran has one of those resumés that would make any aspiring actor salivate.
The New York native, raised in South Bronx, cut his teeth on stage before segueing to a breakout role on HBO’s seminal series Oz. He went on to work with auteurs (Terrence Malick on The Thin Red Line) and icons (Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg on Band of Brothers), make a mark with franchise fare (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and dabble in superhero shows (Arrow, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D). All those popular procedurals? He’s got plenty (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Trial by Jury, Cold Case, Blue Bloods, a couple of CSIs and Person of Interest, etc.).
Since the late 1990s, Acevedo has remained a consistently employed in-demand talent, achieving that often elusive acting feat. But even with a healthy IMDb profile, Acevedo has not been immune to Hollywood’s consolidation and cutbacks. In a candid new interview with Ryan M. Perez on his podcast An Actor Despairs, Acevedo opened up on how the shifting economics of the industry and the loss of creative jobs have impacted “middle class” actors such as himself.
Acevedo revealed he had to sell his house to stay afloat, and now has to navigate piecing together a living with reduced paychecks and fewer opportunities for actors of his stature. Acevedo recalls how he went from “working nonstop” in the late 2010s on shows like Arrow, 12 Monkeys and Kingdom and the films Planet of the Apes and Insidious: The Last Key to a dry spell amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He also missed out on a couple of key opportunities, coming in “second place all of 2019” by missing out on juicy parts in films like Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn and Don’t Breathe 2.
“2021 comes and I’m up for some TV shows; it just goes one way, this way, and that would have saved me. That would’ve saved me. That doesn’t work, and I keep coming in second place, and the reality is second place, you’re the first one to lose,” he explained. “So, I went from working non-stop to now I got to sell my house. I got to sell my house, and everyone’s going through this. I have so many friends, people you know, actors you don’t that had to sell their houses.”
He’s not alone. It’s a much talked about impact of what the industry and its insiders have weathered these past few years from cutbacks and consolidations to COVID-19 and the dual strikes, though not many actors, writers or filmmakers have come forward to detail the heartache. Billy Porter revealed in 2023 that he was forced to sell his home. Asked by The Hollywood Reporter to expand upon his interview with Perez on An Actor Despairs, Acevedo opted to let the podcast interview speak for itself. When he shared the clip on Instagram, his comments section filled up with peers showing their support for his honestly. “Facts,” wrote fellow working actor Neil Brown Jr.
Acevedo filming Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Patrick Wymore/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty Images
Acevedo said his new reality is trying to focus on earning a living on the small screen. “TV is really the only place to really make a living now because it’s not in film for guys like me,” he said because of increased competition. “I can’t even tell you what they want to offer us. It’s not even a livable wage. And in TV now, all the movie stars — since there’s no more films, not the way it used to be — they’re all in TV. Every Oscar winner is doing some eight to 10 to 13 episode show multiple times. I’m competing with Oscar winners. Yeah. It’s like, ‘OK, should we pay Kirk his quote or this guy that was nominated for an Oscar seven, eight, 10 years ago?’ See the problem?”
Acevedo then boiled it down to this: “Like in any economy in any country, the middle class always gets squeezed out. We’re getting squeezed out.” The actor reveals that he was able to book some gigs, including appearances on The Offer, Star Trek: Picard and a four-episode arc on Lioness. But the economics of those gigs has changed as well.
“Let’s say you do 10 guest spots. That’s $100,000 grand, right? You have an agent and manager. So, we take 20 percent out. That’s $80,000 [left]. We got taxes, too. [Let’s say 38 percent, leaving you with] $45,000. Let’s say your your rent is, I don’t know, let’s go on the low side, we won’t even go on the high side, say $3,000. That’s pretty low. That’s $36,000. Can you survive off of 10 episodes? You could if you’re just starting out.”
That’s the problem, Acevedo continued, for “older, middle class actors,” because they can’t make a living by competing with younger actors and still getting their quotes. “We’ve been in the business working steady, and then all of a sudden it just stops. They don’t pay you quote. They make top two on the call sheet regulars. Everybody else is recurring. And because everybody else is recurring, they can lowball you,” he said, adding that it’s easy to do since everybody needs jobs right now. “There are actors that would do it for free. We have no leverage.”
Complicating matters, Acevedo faced a shocking health scare when he suffered a hemorrhagic stroke amid losing the house and facing extended unemployment. “No one knows why it was caused,” said Acevedo said the rare stroke that occurred right before his 50th birthday. “All my vitals, everything was perfect.” The good news: Acevedo bounced back and received a clean bill of health from his doctors.
To watch Acevedo’s An Actors Despairs interview in full, including the career reflections and how he broke into the business, see below.
Acevedo, far left, on an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit opposite Mariska Hargitay and Peter Gallagher.
Virginia Sherwood/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images
Men of Oz: Dean Winters, Acevedo, Harold Perrineau, Mums, and Lee Tergesen at a taping for MTV on Jan. 24, 2003.
Scott Gries/Getty Images
Band Of Brothers: (Top row from L to R) Phillip Barantini, Ross McCall, Scott Grimes, Donnie Wahlberg, Acevedo, Neal McDonough, Adam James and Frank John Hughes.
HBO/Getty Images
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