After Hamilton‘s huge success, the cast was booked and busy — and actor Anthony Ramos was no exception.
But performing in a successful Broadway show may not be all it seems, especially when you’re just starting out.
Last week, Anthony sat down with Vivian Tu on the Richer Lives podcast by SoFi and broke down the financial realities of performing on and off Broadway.
When asked about the feeling of receiving his first Hamilton paycheck, the star responded, “Yo. It was nice. Well — no, no, actually, it wasn’t.”
Anthony explained that his reaction came with the fact that Hamilton originated off-Broadway, and he was making around “$420 a week.”
“Getting that first paycheck was great because I was getting paid to do something […] I loved,” he said. “But I was still struggling in New York, that’s the thing.”
After the move to Broadway, Anthony revealed that “there was a jump.” But he conceded that although the show had leveled up, it was “still tough.”
“If you’re an ensemble member [on Broadway] you’re probably making like $1800 a week, and then you get taxed on that. And you know the taxes in New York… So you’re probably coming home with like, $1000 a week, right, maybe like $1100 a week,” he said.
“If you’re not smart with your money, you’re beat,” he said.
You can listen to Anthony’s full appearance on the Richer Lives podcast here.
