Where do Hollywood babies come from?
In California, infants can start working when they’re 15 days old, provided that they (or their parents) have a work permit and a note from a licensed physician. According to the California labor code, the note must attest that the child was not born prematurely, was of normal birth weight, and is, in the doctor’s opinion, “physically capable of handling the stress of filmmaking.” Also, the child’s lungs, eyes, heart, and immune system must be “sufficiently developed to withstand the potential risks.”
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Where do these babies come from? Like everyone else in Tinseltown, babies have agents and managers. The most desirable infant actors come in sets of two or three—using twins or triplets means a production can film for 40 or 60 minutes a day instead of 20, or that a cranky baby can be swapped out for a more compliant twin. And what are these young pups paid? According to a SAG spokesperson, infants are typically hired as “background actors” and receive a day rate of $126. If an agent or parent bargains for the child to be paid as a principal performer, the rate increases to $737 per day.