Andrew Keegan says some of the residual checks he still receives from old film and television work are so small they barely seem real. On a recent episode of the podcast “The McBride Rewind,” the actor said he has gotten checks for 1 cent, along with others for $10, $20, $50 and $80.
Keegan, best known for his role in the 1999 rom-com “10 Things I Hate About You,” said that movie is probably his biggest source of residuals. But even there, the money is modest. He said, “One cent is not worth my time,” and added that it costs about 40 cents to send a check for 1 cent.
The comments add a blunt, numerical snapshot of how little some older credits can still pay, even for performers with long network and studio resumes. Keegan has said residuals still come in from shows and films that span much of his career, including “Independence Day” in 1996, “Party of Five” from 1997 to 1998, “7th Heaven” from 1997 to 2002, “The Broken Hearts Club” in 2000, “Related” from 2005 to 2006 and “CSI: New York” in 2010.
He also pointed to the uneven way the checks arrive. Keegan said he gets different amounts for different shows, which is why one payment might be barely noticeable while another lands in the tens of dollars. His experience echoes what other actors have recently described in similar interviews.
Last month, Jodie Sweetin said on the same podcast that she “got a 1 cent check the other day.” Earlier this month, Danny Pintauro said in an interview that he was “getting 5 to 6 cents per episode” from “Who’s the Boss?” and that the sitcom can be rerun as often as producers want without any additional pay to him. Pintauro said, “Pretty much everyone misunderstands what residuals mean,” and added that people often assume recognizable actors are set for life, when that is not the case.
The numbers behind the story are small, but the pattern is not. Residuals from older TV and film roles can continue for years, yet they can shrink to amounts that are more symbolic than useful. For Keegan, the checks may still keep arriving. They just do not add up to much.
