All the actors are becoming entrepreneurs

Until a few years ago, for those who had gained great fame in Hollywood, the main way to earn additional income, apart from that generated by movies and series, was to become the face of an advertising campaign. Today, this rule only partially holds true: more and more actors and actresses, in fact, choose to either buy or found companies that deal with completely different things, effectively entering the field of entrepreneurship. On one hand, participating in one or more advertising campaigns is a type of work that does not involve financial risks and yields a lot in terms of invested time, but on the other hand, these are almost always short-term projects. Reinventing themselves as entrepreneurs, however, allows them to secure a fixed income, generally high, to the extent that in some cases, earnings from movies and television paradoxically become a way to supplement income. Founding or acquiring an external company has also replaced what seemed to be the well-trodden path for actors and actresses looking to diversify their earnings: becoming producers in the film industry. The push towards entrepreneurship has also been fueled by the decline in earnings related to copyright, which is precisely why American screenwriters and actors have recently gone on strike.

Who are the main actor-entrepreneurs in Hollywood

Today, among the wealthiest actors in Hollywood is The Rock, not so much for the roles he has been entrusted with, but for the income generated by his tequila brand, called Teremana. Also, Mark Wahlberg, thanks mainly to his investments in the food & drink sector, among others, enjoys a very substantial fortune. In addition to these, there are actresses like Kate Hudson, who owns a highly successful sportswear brand, Sarah Jessica Parker, who after Sex & The City launched a luxury shoe brand, and Jennifer Lopez, who has created a line of cosmetics. One of the first actors to invest in businesses parallel to the entertainment world was Paul Newman, who founded Newman’s Own, a food products company, as early as 1982. However, in recent years, more and more people have moved in this direction. George Clooney, for example, around 2015, started making fewer films but simultaneously launched his own tequila distillery, called Casamigos. Pleasing, on the other hand, is the label of Harry Styles that produces nail polish, which he himself wears and promotes. And again: Jessica Alba has long held a company that produces baby products, The Honest Company, valued at a billion dollars. Most actors and actresses who venture into entrepreneurship choose to buy a stake in an existing company or join a rising reality, but others will take care of balancing the books – rarely do they embark on creating a business from scratch. These companies have a strong interest in associating with stars that enjoy broad visibility to generate free publicity for the business.

Making movies and TV series just to supplement income

But it's not only the most relevant names in entertainment who focus on entrepreneurship. Some take their first steps in Hollywood with the goal of channeling the success generated by movies and TV series into business, and then fully dedicating themselves to "doing business" – leaving or significantly slowing down their acting careers. This is the case, for example, with Gwyneth Paltrow, who hasn't played major roles for about a decade: today, the actress known for Shakespeare in Love is the head of Goop, a retail company that sells beauty products and also launches temporary stores in collaboration with various fashion labels. The same goes for Ashton Kutcher: the American actor has not been the star of a successful film or TV series for more than ten years, and he works mostly with supporting roles, but he owes his fortune to being one of the first to invest in Twitter. Betting on a business activity can also be the result of a simple passion – something that, according to Hollywood Reporter, has been favored by the experience of the pandemic. Ryan Reynolds, for example, who is well-regarded, teamed up with a lesser-known actor, Rob McElhenney, to acquire an English football club, Wrexham, playing in the fourth league of the country, the equivalent of Italy's Serie C2. Even more surprising is the entrepreneurial move of Susan Sarandon, who, being a table tennis enthusiast, invested in a chain of clubs and bars all dedicated to this sport.