Definition of Residuals

• Residuals are payments made to actors for the re-use of a production in which they have appeared. The actor's salary will cover the production's initial release, for example, when a movie comes out in theaters and when a television episode airs for the first time. Residuals are paid when the movie in which the actor appeared comes out on DVD or airs on television, for example, or when the television episode is re-run or sold in DVD format.
  
  

Entitlement to Residuals

• Performers who are in the production under a principal performer agreement, and whose work appears in the final cut of the project, are entitled to residuals. This means that extras and principal performers whose work was eliminated before the production's initial release are not entitled to residuals. Residuals are not only paid to actors, but also stunt performers, singers and puppeteers, among others.
  
  

Payment Amount

• The amount of the residual payment depends on certain factors, like the time the performer spent and the nature of the re-use market of the production. The actual amount of residual payments will vary from project to project and from year to year.
  
  

Payment Schedule

• The schedule of residual payments follows certain SAG rules. Made-for-television productions must pay residuals within 30 days after the re-airing on television, with the exception of syndication, which must pay within 4 months, and basic cable, which pays quarterly. Foreign free TV initially pays within 30 days, and then every six months. Prime-time network TV pays within 30 days of the initial broadcast of a theatrical release, then quarterly afterward. All other markets pay within four months of the initial broadcast of a theatrical release, then quarterly. Residual payments continue as long as the production continues to generate revenue.
  
  

Payment Method

• SAG issues checks for all residual payments. According to the Guild's website, SAG's residuals department issues between 1.5 and 1.6 million residual checks every year. Checks are mailed to the address on file with the Guild. For this reason, the Guild asks that members keep their contact information up-to-date at all times.
  
  

SAG Residual Tracker and Unclaimed Residuals

• Members can track their pending residuals by logging into the SAG website. Performers and heirs of performers who are entitled to claim residuals can also search the SAG unclaimed residuals database to see if money is held in trust under the actor's name. Money goes into this database when the performer who is owed residuals cannot be located.