Actors robbed of jobs by amateurs

Reality television has robbed actors of more than 3500 roles, or 10 per cent of their TV livelihoods, Hollywood's main actors' union says.

The Screen Actors' Guild (SAG) said the number of small-screen roles for members plunged to 34,431 in 2004 from 37,954 in 2003. The cause was reality shows, which soared by 46 per cent.