Actor Kirk Acevedo attends the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures' "The Water Diviner" at the TCL Chinese Theatre on April 16, 2015 in Hollywood, California.

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Since the late 1990s, Acevedo has remained a consistently employed in-demand talent, achieving that often elusive acting feat. But even with a healthy IMDb profile, Acevedo has not been immune to Hollywood’s consolidation and cutbacks. In a candid new interview with Ryan M. Perez on his podcast An Actor Despairs, Acevedo opened up on how the shifting economics of the industry and the loss of creative jobs have impacted “middle class” actors such as himself.

Acevedo revealed he had to sell his house to stay afloat, and now has to navigate piecing together a living with reduced paychecks and fewer opportunities for actors of his stature. Acevedo recalls how he went from “working nonstop” in the late 2010s on shows like Arrow, 12 Monkeys and Kingdom and the films Planet of the Apes and Insidious: The Last Key to a dry spell amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He also missed out on a couple of key opportunities, coming in “second place all of 2019” by missing out on juicy parts in films like Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn and Don’t Breathe 2.

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“2021 comes and I’m up for some TV shows; it just goes one way, this way, and that would have saved me. That would’ve saved me. That doesn’t work, and I keep coming in second place, and the reality is second place, you’re the first one to lose,” he explained. “So, I went from working non-stop to now I got to sell my house. I got to sell my house, and everyone’s going through this. I have so many friends, people you know, actors you don’t that had to sell their houses.”

He’s not alone. It’s a much talked about impact of what the industry and its insiders have weathered these past few years from cutbacks and consolidations to COVID-19 and the dual strikes, though not many actors, writers or filmmakers have come forward to detail the heartache. Billy Porter revealed in 2023 that he was forced to sell his home. Asked by The Hollywood Reporter to expand upon his interview with Perez on An Actor Despairs, Acevedo opted to let the podcast interview speak for itself. When he shared the clip on Instagram, his comments section filled up with peers showing their support for his honestly. “Facts,” wrote fellow working actor Neil Brown Jr.

Acevedo filming Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Patrick Wymore/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty Images

Acevedo said his new reality is trying to focus on earning a living on the small screen. “TV is really the only place to really make a living now because it’s not in film for guys like me,” he said because of increased competition. “I can’t even tell you what they want to offer us. It’s not even a livable wage. And in TV now, all the movie stars — since there’s no more films, not the way it used to be — they’re all in TV. Every Oscar winner is doing some eight to 10 to 13 episode show multiple times. I’m competing with Oscar winners. Yeah. It’s like, ‘OK, should we pay Kirk his quote or this guy that was nominated for an Oscar seven, eight, 10 years ago?’ See the problem?”

Acevedo then boiled it down to this: “Like in any economy in any country, the middle class always gets squeezed out. We’re getting squeezed out.” The actor reveals that he was able to book some gigs, including appearances on The Offer, Star Trek: Picard and a four

Kirk Acevedo Gets Candid on Hollywood Cutbacks, Reveals He Sold Home