Comedians lament lessening acting jobs for them in Hollywood

When Adam Carolla asked actor and comedian Jeff Garlin on his podcast last week whether there was “anything going on in Hollywood anymore,” the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star admitted that acting roles had virtually dried up for him.

“I haven’t worked in almost three years since ‘Curb’ ended,” Garlin said, prefacing his remarks with uncertainty about whether he should reveal his circumstances. “…The reason that you and I do this no longer exists. It doesn’t.”

“We could be doing this thing in Sweden,” he added.

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With that comment, Garlin was referring to the growing number of productions that have left not only California but the country altogether. Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said last week that a new post-production tax credit, an expanded film and television tax credit, and protections for actors against AI-generated content are expected to help Hollywood.

In total, 35 films, 28 of which are independent projects, received production incentives in the latest round of awards under the California Film Commission’s expanded Film and Television Tax Credit Program. The commission estimates the projects will generate more than $1 billion in direct production spending, create jobs for more than 5,400 cast and crew members, and employ 24,800 background actors.

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Additionally, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers is working on a federal tax credit for film and television productions that could be used alongside state production incentives.

While blame is being placed on California’s political leadership over Hollywood’s production decimation, others are also pointing fingers at the studios themselves. (Getty Images)

Even with the proposed and expanded incentives, conversations with people in Hollywood suggest that uncertainty remains about whether the measures will bring production jobs back.

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“The number of American productions that are filmed in Ireland tells you all you need to know. All these empty sound stages. It’s a shame,” Garlin said.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industry has lost 49,000 jobs since 2022, following the COVID-19 pandemic and a slowdown in streaming production.

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A production crew prepares to shoot a scene for the film “San Andreas” on Hyde Street in San Francisco, California, on Tuesday, July 22, 2014. Actor Dwayne Johnson starred in the earthquake disaster movie. (Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

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Actor and comedian Bryan Callen told Fox News Digital that he sympathizes with Garlin but wasn’t surprised by his admission.

“You can’t make your living as just an actor anymore in Los Angeles. If you do a series on, say, Netflix, and it’s a 10-episode series, do the math. Take a look at what’s left after taxes and commissions to your manager, your agent, whoever it might be,” Callen said, emphasizing the high cost of producing films and television shows in Los Angeles.

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“You are living, if you are lucky, a middle-class existence, but probably lower than that when you take into account how expensive everything is in Los Angeles — property and just having to live and buy food and all that stuff,” he said.

Comedian Bryan Callen performs a stand-up set at the Stress Factory Comedy Club in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Getty Images)

Callen himself has increasingly turned to stand-up comedy and podcasting rather than relying solely on acting.

“I was like, I can’t put all my eggs in this acting basket,” he said, pointing to several factors that have diminished the cultural prominence of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars.

“This business has been so atomized. The days of all of us going to one place, whether it’s a TV show or a movie, to watch that one person are long gone… And if that’s the case, big names are no longer big names. They just aren’t.”

Still, despite what Callen described as the demise of Hollywood’s “monoculture” — an era when major stars alone could draw audiences to television shows and movies — he doesn’t believe Hollywood itself is going away.

The Hollywood sign stands in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on May 29, 2025. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg)

“Remember this about Los Angeles,” Callen said. “First of all, you shot there because the weather was predictable. It wasn’t going to rain you out. And number two, the best of the best still lives in Los Angeles.”

“People think they can move this business to Texas or whatever. No, you can’t. At the end of the day, you still have the best sound engineers, the best directors, the best writers, the best special effects people, the best people who score film and all that.”

While Carolla and Garlin may share Callen’s perspective on Hollywood’s enduring strengths, they still had plenty to lament about the current state of the entertainment business in the Golden State.

Comedian Adam Carolla sits down with Fox News primetime host Sean Hannity on the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast. (Hang Out With Sean Hannity/Screengrab)

“I talked to a friend of mine… He’s been working as an editor nonstop for 32 years…,” Carolla said. “And he goes, ‘I’m retired. There’s no work.’”

“Everyone is moving out, and it’s affecting — I mean, again, everyone thinks about the actor, the director, but a crew has so many people that work, hairdressers, catering, craft service people, crew members.”

“I moved here to be in a world where Bob Newhart and Mel Brooks opened the doors, and you followed through,” Garlin said. “It used to be, ‘Boy, you’re lucky, even if you’re talented, to break through.’ Now, it’s, ‘You’re lucky if someone even notices you’re in the room.’”