It’s not that different today the vast majority of actors today are not rich or even well paid. A list actors are and that hasn’t changed at all. Historically

It’s not that different today the vast majority of actors today are not rich or even well paid. A list actors are and that hasn’t changed at all. Historically “traveling” actors were often looked down on not that differently than say street performers or your Hollywood “acting waitresses” that gets a few gigs a year as an extra. However the historical equivalent of A list actors would be acting groups like https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Chamberlain%27s_Men https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Chamberlain%27s_Men or https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Strange%27s_Men https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Strange%27s_Men. And even in the 16th century many famous actors became very wealthy take the likes of Edward Alleyn and William Knell for example.