An under-five, also known as an under-5 or a U/5, is a television or film
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
whose character has fewer than five lines of
dialogue
Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...
. The term is used in
SAG-AFTRA
The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA, stylized as SAG·AFTRA ) is an American labor union representing approximately 160,000 film and television actors, journalists, radio personalities, record ...
contracts and has been used when referring to performers in a daytime
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
.
SAG-AFTRA rules
An under-five role falls between an
extra
Extra or Xtra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper
* ''Extra!'', an American me ...
(a nonspeaking role) and a
day player
A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two s ...
(a full part). Per SAG-AFTRA, for an under-five the total number of words in the five lines or less must be below 50. Exceeding this reclassifies the role as a full part, which constitutes a substantial rise in pay. An extra may be upgraded to under-five status if they interact with principals or are given direction in a way that furthers the plot.
Prior to the 2012 merger of the
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), actors performing as under-fives as members of AFTRA became eligible for SAG membership after one year.
Post merger, actors performing with an under-five contract operate as members of the consolidated union.
Through November 16, 2016, the minimum pay rate for an under-five actor on a soap opera is $451 for a one-hour show, and $369 for a -hour show. By comparison, the minimum pay rate for a principal on a soap opera is $1,038 for a one-hour show, and $778 for a -hour show. The pay rate for a background actor on a soap opera is $150 for a 1-hour show, and $115 for a -hour show.
Under-five work
An under-five role can be a stepping stone to bigger roles.
However, with the general decline of American soap operas, the number of under-fives, extras, and even day players employed has declined, due to reductions of production budgets.
See also
*
Bit part
In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television, ...
References
{{Film crew
Soap opera terminology
Acting