A single statement—“The pay belongs to the entire team, and after these eight days of filming, you might not get another role for a year”—pushed actress Cui Jingge into the spotlight and onto trending searches. Rather than sparking admiration for her earnings, her remarks prompted renewed discussion about the financial realities faced by non-leading actors in the entertainment industry.
The controversy began when Cui Jingge shared details of her income on social media. She revealed that while appearing as supporting character Lilya in the popular drama Twenty Your Life On, she filmed for only eight days at a daily rate of 5,000 yuan, totaling approximately 40,000 yuan in gross pay. At first glance, the figure struck some viewers as substantial, but her subsequent breakdown shifted the conversation.
According to Cui Jingge, the payment was subject to agency commissions ranging from 50 to 90 percent, followed by labor taxes and service fees accounting for another 20 to 30 percent. After all deductions, her actual earnings amounted to less than 15,000 yuan. When calculated against the full timeline—including nearly three months of availability and waiting—the income translated to roughly 4,000 yuan per month, revealing a stark contrast to the perception created by the headline “daily rate.”
Addressing criticism that a daily fee of 5,000 yuan still represents high income, Cui Jingge released a response video on February 8 to explain industry practices. She emphasized that acting fees are not equivalent to steady daily wages, as they must cover extended periods of auditions, training, waiting, self-improvement, and living expenses during times without work. Her remarks underscored the growing gap between public perception and the current realities of the entertainment sector.
The discussion has since expanded beyond an individual case, shedding light on the industry’s uneven income structure. While public attention often focuses on the lucrative contracts of top-tier stars, a far larger group of supporting and lesser-known actors faces unstable opportunities, high commission rates, and prolonged gaps between projects. For many, acting income functions less as a salary and more as a means of offsetting prolonged uncertainty.
Cui Jingge’s experience has become a reference point in conversations about professional sustainability and structural inequality within the industry. Her response offers a grounded perspective on the livelihoods of ordinary actors and adds nuance to ongoing debates surrounding actor compensation in an era dominated by traffic-driven visibility and concentrated resources.
