For actors

Contracts for actors

A UK actor, agent or production needs a signed agreement before the call time: the booking, extras, usage of the performance and likeness, exclusivity, fees, and who holds the performers' rights versus copyright in the film. CDPA 1988 s.180 keeps those rights independent of copyright. s.191B needs a written, signed . Lex drafts that on one shared link.

Last updated 6 November 2026

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Templates actors use most

Client workFreelancer agreementA freelancer agreement sets the brief, deliverables, rate, rights and payment terms between a freelancer and a client.Read →Client workServices agreement (MSA)A services agreement sets the standing terms for every project with a client, so each new job needs only a short statement of work.Read →PartnershipsInfluencer agreementAn influencer agreement sets the posts, platforms, dates, usage rights and payment for a brand campaign with a creator.Read →Client workStatement of workA statement of work sets the scope, deliverables, milestones and fees for one project under a wider services agreement.Read →Client workVideography contractA videography contract covers the shoot day, deliverables, usage rights and payment, plus cancellation, rescheduling and releases.Read →NDAs & IPPhotography licenceA photography licence lets a client use your photos for set uses, places and time, while you keep the copyright.Read →NDAs & IPMutual NDAA mutual NDA lets two businesses share confidential information both ways before a deal, and says what each side can do with it.Read →HiringIndependent contractor agreementAn independent contractor agreement hires someone to do work as a business of their own, setting the work, pay, ownership and how the arrangement ends.Read →

Which clauses decide an actor contract?

Five lines decide most acting bookings: the job and the days, how they may use the performance and likeness, the fee plus unused booked dates, any category exclusivity, and whether the paper is a or a buyout. Write them in a freelancer agreement or a services agreement before the call. Lex puts them on one paper the client signs from a link.

The clauses that usually decide a UK commercial, corporate or promotional acting booking. Assignment of a performer's property rights must be in writing, signed — CDPA 1988 s.191B. Authors of a film are the producer and the principal director — CDPA 1988 ss.9(2)(ab) and 11.
ClauseWhat it doesTypical talent line
Scope and deliverablesWhat “done” looks like on the day.One commercial shoot; call 07:30; two looks; no overtime unless quoted.
Usage and likenessMedia, territory, term; stills and selects.UK TV and VOD, 12 months; named stills; paid ads extra.
Fees and unused datesWhen money is due, and what unused booked days cost.Named day rate; unused booked days charged as the line.
ExclusivityWhich category, which names, and for how long.No competing supermarket face during the campaign plus 30 days.
Kill feeWhat a cancelled or unused booked day costs.Booking cancelled inside 48 hours is charged.

What contract does an actor need?

Contracts.io has no actor template. Start from a freelancer agreement or a services agreement. Those papers already have fee, usage, cancellation and IP slots. A promotional appearance can sit next to an influencer agreement. A filmed day can sit next to a videography contract. Stills reuse can sit next to a photo licence. Repeat bookings can hang a statement of work under standing terms. Company-to-company contractor work can start from an independent contractor agreement. If you are sharing an unreleased script or campaign before the deal is signed, a mutual NDA sits next to it. This page is screen, stage, commercial, corporate and promotional acting — not voice-over and not influencer posts. What should a UK actor contract include? is the England and Wales deep-dive. Lex drafts from one sentence; the client signs from one link.

How should scope and deliverables be written?

Name the job, the dates, the call time, rehearsal or fitting days, overtime, travel, and who supplies wardrobe, hair and makeup. “Some acting” is not a list. “One UK TV commercial, 14 November, call 07:30 at the named studio, one fitting the day before, two looks, no overtime unless quoted” is a list. Extra days, a second market and a buyout into a new territory are a change of scope, quoted first. You deliver the performance on the day; the finished edit is their production. See What should a UK actor contract include?.

Who owns the performance, the film and the stills?

Performers' rights sit with you unless you assign them. CDPA 1988 s.180 keeps those rights independent of copyright in the script or the film. Section 191B says an assignment of the performer's property rights is not effective unless it is in writing, signed. Paying the fee does not move them. Authors of a film are the producer and the principal director — s.9(2)(ab) and s.11 — not the actor who performed. Licence named uses of the performance and likeness on full payment; a buyout is a signed assignment of named rights, not a heading. See usage rights and credit and intellectual property assignment.

How should fees, unused dates and exclusivity work?

Write the fee, whether it is a day rate or a usage buyout, whether VAT is extra, when invoices go out, and what unused booked days cost. There is no default UK right to keep a or charge a kill fee; both sides have to agree it. Residuals are extra sums when the spot runs again — practice, not a statute we invent. For a UK business client, late commercial payment carries statutory interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. An exclusivity clause names a category, named rivals and a window — not “any brand, forever”. See payment terms and Client cancelled: can you keep the deposit?.

How should agents, casting and booking confirmation work?

Write who the parties are: talent, personal company if you use one, agent if one is on the paper, and the client. If an agent is on the paper, write the commission and who invoices. There is no default UK agency-commission statute we cite; both sides agree the rate. A booking confirmation should name the dates, the call, the fee and the usage window — not “as discussed”. Self-tape and casting-call notes stay outside the deal until you are booked; the contract is for the booking, not the audition. See What should a UK actor contract include?.

How should personal data, contractor status and liability work?

Headshots, measurements and casting packs are personal data. UK GDPR Article 28 applies when a booking collects other people's data for the client. Write that in data protection. Typical brand, studio and production bookings are B2B; do not paste consumer cooling-off onto a company brief. Cap liability at the fees. You cannot exclude death or personal injury caused by negligence — Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 s.2. If you book through a personal company into a brand, agency, studio or production, no IR35 label decides the tax. See limitation of liability and IR35 contract clauses checklist.

Frequently asked questions

What contract does an actor need?

A freelancer or services agreement covering the booking and deliverables, usage or buyout of the performance and likeness, exclusivity, fees and unused booked dates, who holds the performers' rights versus copyright in the film, , and a . There is no actor template; start from the freelancer agreement. The longer England and Wales page is What should a UK actor contract include?

Do I keep the performers' rights until I am paid?

Yes, unless you already assigned them in writing, signed. CDPA 1988 s.191B requires a signed written assignment of the performer's property rights. Paying an invoice does not move them. Write a licence or assignment on full payment.

Does the producer own copyright in the film?

Not alone. CDPA 1988 s.9(2)(ab) takes the authors of a film to be the producer and the principal director. Combined with s.11, those authors are the first owners unless the employee exception applies. The actor is not, by performing, an author of the film. Performers' rights sit in a separate pile under s.180.

Should an acting booking be a licence or a buyout?

Licence named uses unless they must own the rights. A buyout is an assignment of the performer's property rights: writing, signed, on full payment, for named media, territory and term. Paying a day rate is not a buyout. Stills and likeness selects are a named use. Price them or exclude them.

Can I keep the fee if the client cancels a booked date?

Only if both sides agreed unused booked dates and what is kept. There is no default UK kill-fee rule and no default right to keep a deposit. For a business client the charge must not be a penalty. Typical brand and production bookings are B2B, so the consumer 14-day cooling-off does not apply.

Can the client sign without creating an account?

Yes. You share one link, the client reads the agreement in Plain English, agrees and signs. It is free for them.

Sources

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The legal wording governsLast reviewed 6 November 2026Pending lawyer review