How much did Tommy Dorfman earn for '13 Reasons Why'? Actress claims she 'barely qualified for insurance' after joining SAG-AFTRA strike
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: As the SAG-AFTRA strike, which has crossed the 10-day mark, is growing stronger each day, several actors are joining the strike and revealing the measly amounts they have received as salaries or residuals. The latest to join the bandwagon is Tommy Dorfman, famous for playing Ryan Shaver in the hit series ‘13 Reasons Why’.
Taking to her social media, Dorfman revealed the meager amount she received as salary for the first season of the show. The 31-year-old star claimed that she “barely qualified for insurance,” while simultaneously revealing the huge viewing hours the show garnered after its release.
How much did Tommy Dorfman earn for 13 'Reasons Why'?
Dorfman took to her Threads account to give the details of her earnings from ‘13 Reasons Why’ where she recurrently played the role of Ryan Shaver for the first two seasons and then returned as a guest for the fourth one. She revealed that she earned a paltry $29,953.24, which was before paying the fees of the agency and the manager. "My earnings for the entire first season of 13 Reasons Why were $29,953.24 prior to agency and manager fees (20%) and taxes.” Dorfman elaborated that the earnings were from eight episodes which were shot over six months.
She further added that she has been a part of all promotions and had to make round trips across the country to “shoot for every episode,” writing, "I did all of the promos and had KEY ART for this show, flew round trip from NYC to SF to shoot for every episode, was kept for days without pay/working.” Dorfman continued, “I barely qualified for insurance.”
She then drew a contrast with the viewing hours of the show. “Within the first 28 days of release, the show’s season 1 garnered a total of 476 million view hours,” she wrote, adding poignantly, “This is why we strike. @sagaftra."
‘This is all going to come crashing down’
Last week, Sean Gunn, brother of James Gunn, became vocal about receiving paltry residuals for his ‘Gilmore Girls’. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said that he “particularly wanted to come out and protest Netflix” because he had not been adequately compensated for ‘Gilmore Girls’. “I was on a television show called Gilmore Girls for a long time that has brought in massive profits for Netflix,” he explained. “It has been one of their most popular shows for a very long time, over a decade. It gets streamed over and over and over again, and I see almost none of the revenue that comes into that.” He added, “You really need to rethink how you do business and share the wealth with people. . . Otherwise, this is all going to come crashing down.”
‘This is Us’ actress Mandy Moore too spoke out against the residual policy saying she once received "very tiny, like 81-cent checks” as residuals. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she added, "The residual issue is a huge issue. We’re in incredibly fortunate positions as working actors having been on shows that found tremendous success in one way or another.”