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Andrew Keegan, the 1990s teen heartthrob best known for his breakout role in the 1999 romantic comedy ’10 Things I Hate About You’, recently revealed that his residual payments from decades-old projects sometimes amount to just 1 cent. The actor disclosed this surprising reality during a podcast appearance, shedding light on how dramatically streaming technology has reshaped Hollywood’s payment structure for legacy content.
🔥 Quick Facts
- Keegan, born January 29, 1979, is now 47 years old
- He received one-cent residual checks from his 1990s TV and film work
- ’10 Things I Hate About You’ generates his largest residual payments
- Streaming platforms pay significantly less than traditional TV reruns
- SAG-AFTRA members need $26,470 annual residuals to maintain health insurance eligibility
Hollywood’s 1990s Career Built on Recurring Roles
Andrew Keegan began his career as a child actor in the early 1990s, securing roles in shows like ‘Full House’ and films such as ‘Camp Nowhere’ (1994). His breakthrough came with supporting roles in ‘Party of Five’ and the hit drama series ‘7th Heaven’, where he played recurring character Wilson West. This consistent television presence throughout the decade positioned him as a recognizable face in 1990s pop culture.
His most celebrated role arrived in ’10 Things I Hate About You’ (1999), where he starred opposite Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The film became a cultural phenomenon and remains a staple on streaming platforms nearly three decades later. For a supporting cast member in a theatrical release, this role would typically generate ongoing residuals through various distribution channels.
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Andrew Keegan reveals residuals from ’10 Things I Hate About You’ sometimes amount to just 1 cent
The Reality of Penny-Pinching Residual Payments
During a recent podcast conversation, Keegan revealed that while ’10 Things I Hate About You’ remains his largest source of residuals, many of his other projects generate checks so small they barely cover the cost of postage. One-cent payments from streaming services have become increasingly common for actors from that era, turning what was once a reliable income stream into an administrative nuisance.
The actor emphasized that these microscopic payments arrive sporadically and unpredictably. Some weeks, he receives nothing; other times, multiple one-cent and two-cent checks arrive from different platforms licensing the same content. Keegan stated that collecting these payments is ‘not worth my time,’ reflecting frustration shared by many mid-tier actors whose careers spanned the pre-streaming era.
How Streaming Changed Residual Economics
Traditional television residuals worked on a percentage basis: actors earned a fixed percentage of their original salary each time their episode aired in syndication. A half-hour TV drama episode that initially paid $2,000–$5,000 could generate $200–$400 per rerun, accumulating into meaningful income when shows aired multiple times yearly on cable channels.
| Residual Payment Model | Typical Amount | Frequency |
| Cable TV rerun (1990s–2000s) | $50–$500 per airing | Weekly or monthly |
| Network broadcast (syndication) | $100–$1,000 per run | Multiple weekly |
| Streaming platform (2020s) | $0.01–$5 per payment period | Quarterly or annually |
| Theatrical film (theatrical release) | Typically one-time payment | No ongoing residuals |
Streaming services operate on a different economic model: they offer flat monthly subscription fees with no per-view compensation. When residuals are calculated, they’re distributed across thousands of titles and hundreds of thousands of individual credits, fractionalizing payments to pennies. The Guardian reported in 2023 that actors routinely receive checks for 1 cent, 2 cents, and 5 cents from various streaming platforms, a phenomenon that became widespread after 2020.
The Broader Industry Pattern
Keegan’s experience isn’t unique. In May 2026, actress Jodie Sweetin (‘Full House’) revealed she recently received a one-cent residual check for her work on the sitcom, which remains popular on various streaming services. Earlier, Mandy Moore (‘This Is Us’) publicly showed residual checks totaling 1 cent and 81 cents for her Emmy-nominated performance.
“The situation reveals how the streaming era has decimated earning potential for supporting actors and recurring cast members from the 1980s through 2000s, despite executives at these platforms generating billions in revenue.”
— Industry analysis based on reported statements from actors and union data, 2026
What This Means for Industry Health Insurance Standards
SAG-AFTRA requires members to earn $26,470 annually from acting or residuals to maintain health and pension benefits. For actors like Keegan whose careers peaked before streaming dominated, relying on residuals to meet this threshold has become unrealistic. Many working actors now need to actively pursue new roles regardless of age, simply to maintain insurance eligibility.
The union campaigned heavily during the 2023 actors’ strike to reform streaming residual payments, a core negotiating point. However, negotiated contracts still permit studios to apply proprietary formulas that minimize payouts. This structural inequity has created a two-tier system: mega-stars who negotiated special backend deals receive meaningful payments, while supporting players receive pennies.
Will Residuals Ever Return to Their Golden Age?
The economics of streaming make traditional residual structures impossible to maintain at scale. With millions of hours of content generating billions in subscriptions, studios argue they cannot calculate per-user value or attribute specific content to individual revenue. Yet the dramatic decline from $100–$500 per TV rerun to 1-cent payouts signals a fundamental devaluation of creative labor that union advocates claim violates the spirit of collective bargaining agreements.
For Andrew Keegan, the bright spot remains that ’10 Things I Hate About You’ continues to generate revenue—his largest payments, while still modest by comparison to his theatrical role expectations, at least exceed pennies. But for thousands of working actors from the pre-streaming era, the era of meaningful residual income appears to have ended, replaced by a system that treats payments as ceremonial rather than substantial.
Sources
- People Magazine — Andrew Keegan’s residual payment revelations, May 26, 2026
- Entertainment Weekly — Analysis of actor residual checks in streaming era, May 26, 2026
- The Guardian — Investigation into 1-cent residual checks during 2023 actors’ strike, July 2023
- SAG-AFTRA Official Resources — Health insurance eligibility requirements and residual payment standards
- Streaming Industry Analysis — Residual payment methodology across Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and other platforms
