80s child star fires back at criticism over Amazon driving job as he reveals hourly wage that beats residuals

Who's the Boss? star Danny Pintauro is firing back after criticism over his job as an Amazon driver, revealing his current pay outpaces his residual checks.

The former child actor found himself back in the headlines in April after sharing photos of himself working as a delivery driver for Amazon Flex.

But fans were left confused online, questioning why a former sitcom star would need gig work at all. 

Pintauro has since responded to the reaction, explaining that residual checks from his acting days simply aren’t enough to live on.

Now, appearing on Monday’s episode of the Pod Meets World podcast, he said the experience has exposed how little people understand about the financial reality of working actors.

'When I posted the picture for [Amazon] Flex, I really didn't, it did not cross my mind because everybody knows that I'm working,' he explained. 'It's one of the five different gig jobs that I'm doing right now. We're gig actors. Acting is one of the six gigs.'

Pintauro, now 50, was just eight years old when he first shot to fame alongside Tony Danza and Judith Light on Who’s the Boss?, which debuted in 1984 and ran for eight seasons. 

Because the series pre-dated DVDs and streaming, his original contracts didn’t account for today’s digital revenue streams.

As a result, the former child star says he now earns minimal residuals, while adding that his Amazon driving work has proven 'surprisingly good' financially.

Speaking on the podcast, Pintauro revealed he can earn around '$80 to $100' during a two-to-three-hour shift delivering for Amazon.

'We have to do what we have to do to survive. We have got to keep moving as humans,' Pintauro said. 

'We're all doing it. I am not different from you in that sense. We've never been different from you in that sense. I don't make money from residuals.'

The actor also reflected on earlier public scrutiny, recalling a past stint working at Gap after Who’s the Boss? ended, when he was photographed by a hidden camera and mocked online.

When Pintauro first revealed his Amazon job in April, he shared a selfie from inside his delivery truck. 

'There’s no shame in staying in motion. Working hard while "not working,"' he wrote in the caption.

He continued: 'The entertainment business has been soooo slow, so I’ve been doing what a lot of people do - figuring it out, showing up, and taking the work that’s there while I keep building the work I really want. 38 packages today! 

'There’s no shame in staying in motion.'

Pintauro is far from alone in facing the reality of paper-thin Hollywood payouts. 

10 Things I Hate About You heartthrob Andrew Keegan recently joked that some of his residual checks are worth just one cent - so little that mailing them likely costs more than the payout itself.

Full House alum Jodie Sweetin once disclosed that she was sent a residual payment for a grand total of one penny.

And veteran sitcom star Ted McGinley - whose lengthy resume includes Happy Days, The Love Boat and Married... with Children - admitted he has accumulated an entire stack of one-cent checks over the years.

He explained that residuals ‘step down, eventually, it doesn’t become that much.’

Nevertheless, his decades-long career across the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s means that ‘I’ve been getting residuals all the time.’

McGinley admitted he doesn’t bother cashing in the penny checks, though he isn’t above depositing slightly larger ones.

‘I’d say about $2,’ he said with a laugh, estimating the smallest amount he’ll cash.

‘$1.89, it’s going in!’ he added.

The reveal also comes after Lisa Kudrow left fans stunned after revealing the eye-watering sums she and her Friends co-stars still pocket every year in residuals.

Kudrow, who played the eccentric Phoebe Buffay throughout the show’s ten-season run from 1994 to 2004, starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and the late Matthew Perry.

The cast famously negotiated their salaries together, skyrocketing from $22,500 per episode in the first season to a staggering $1million each by the final two seasons.

They later reunited for a one-off special on HBO Max in 2021, reportedly earning a cool $2.5million apiece for the nostalgic return.

But according to Kudrow, even those astonishing paydays pale in comparison to the steady stream of income the cast continues to receive from the show's global syndication.

Speaking to The Times, the actress, 62, who is currently starring in a new season of The Comeback, revealed the cast still rake in an astonishing $20million a year in residuals.

In the same interview, Kudrow reflected on why the series continues to generate such enormous residual income, suggesting its enduring success is more than justified.

‘After Matthew died I watched the show again. Before, I only saw what I did wrong or could have done better, but for the first time I truly appreciated just how great it was,’ Kudrow explained, referencing the tragic passing of Perry, who died on October 28, 2023, at the age of 54 from the acute effects of ketamine. 

'Because there was a genius at work. And whatever any of us do in the future, we will never experience something like that again.'

She added, 'I felt I did OK, but Jennifer and Courteney? Amazing. David and Matt? They had me laughing so hard. And then Matthew – he was just beyond us all.'