Do Actors Really Earn Their Money?

The highest paid actor of 2014 was Robert Downey Junior who earned $75 million for his role in “Iron Man.” This movie was extremely successful earning $1.2 billion is box office revenue. The question that many are asking is did he earn this? Was his service useful to people? Should people who effect the economy more, like big CEO's and the president, be paid more than actors? Or should actors be paid this much because entertainment is such a huge business. These questions are all very relevant today.

Many career paths are less glamorous, but involve saving and improving lives in a much more immediate way. Yet, these jobs involve significantly lower paychecks.

I think these jobs get paid less, because they aren’t as famous. Nobody knows the CEO of ComEd by name, but this is one of the biggest monopolies. The top leaders in big companies like ComEd work much harder than actors, so they should earn more money. This is a great idea because it would allow money to flow down to the lower workers in that business. This will never happen though because CEO’s are in charge of their pay, and most pay all the people below him for their services. Actors make so much money because the film companies are paying them, and it is because of the actors, that the films succeed.  In the end, big CEO’s work much harder than actors, and deserve more money, but this will never happen due to the culture of America. 

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At the same time, entertainment is an important part of many people's lives. Movies inspire, motivate, enlighten, and bring people together.

I agree with this statement because there is no way someone can go through a full day without seeing some form of entertainment. Actors work very hard in their roles, and deserve fair recognition, because they are one of the major reasons film companies make so much money. Chances are the majority of people would go see a movie with Channing Tatum shirtless that lacks a good message, instead of a deep movie with no well known actors. At the same time many people remember that one movie that touched and inspired them as a child. For example when I was younger the bond between Buzz and Woody inspired me to work hard and find a friendship like theirs. I believe this happens to most children, and they never forget the message. This helps reinforce the notion that entertainment inspires, motivates, enlightens, and helps bring people together. Entertainment is a powerful thing, so they should be paid a lot for this recognition.

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Perhaps the most significant difference between stars and the average employee involves reach. Even for people who spend their days saving lives, their work typically only affects a specific community.

No average citizens can spread their voice as far as actors, mainly because they just aren’t as well known. Well known actors are shown all over the TV and inspire the youth by trying to seem down to earth, and trying to enlighten people of daily struggles. Many actors support charities, which helps spread awareness about some important cause and helps the charity grow. By actors doing this, it helps many people, which shows just how important entertainment is. I look up to all the actors that spend their off time working for the less fortunate. Actors know that they are famous, and what they do will inspire others, so if they choose to help people, instead of parting all the time, it really serves a good message to the average citizen.

They have specific and unique talents that helped them rise to the top. Typically, a celebrity's fame is the direct result of his or her skills, not vice versa.

The only easy way to enter into acting is to have a famous parent, but that is such a small percentage it is irrelevant. The rest have to work extremely hard, which is shown by the small percentage of actually famous actors. I agree that a celebrity has a distinct talent, but so does the President. The president is known just as well as actors, and in my opinion has much more skills. Obama has leadership skills, the knowledge to make important decisions, and a lot of power, so why is he not paid more? The president earns around $400,000 and some famous actors earn around $100 million. This is embarrassing. I agree that actors have a lot of skill and fame, but I also agree that people like the president, and big CEO’s deserve the same recognition. .