Non-binary actor Asia Kate Dillon is telling fans that she is looking for a job back in the food service industry as acting roles have dried up.
The 41-year-old actor, whose last role was in the 2025 indie film Outerlands and who starred in the 2023 series Billions, took to her social media last week to lament the state of Hollywood for working actors.
2,013 likes, 137 comments - asiakatedillon on October 20, 2026: "Hello! In the year 2000, when I was fifteen, I got my first job in food service. It was a weekend gig at the (locally) famous, always bustling Ithaca Bakery. I worked mornings; first up was sorting the freshly baked piping hot bagels in their respective bins, and then I would move into rotating and stocking the drink fridges. Throughout my shift my duties included maintaining the coffee station in the center of the retail floor - lids, sugars, straws, stirrers, sleeves, I kept everything very tidy - cleaning and restocking the restroom, mopping up inevitable customer spills, ferrying dirty and then clean dish bins to and from the dining areas, and greeting customers. I loved it. Ranging from dishwasher to food runner to floor manager, I continued working in food and general customer service, alongside any acting gigs I could rustle up, until the fall of 2015 when I was finally able to make the transition to a full time income stemming from just my acting work. I have worked exclusively in theater, film and TV for the last eleven years. Now, like for many, many performer colleagues of mine - particularly those of us who are trans/nonbinary/gender nonconforming - acting work has all but diminished, and I’m in need of service work once more. I love customer service. I love creating welcoming environments for people to relax in and connect with each other. I love food and drink. I am passionate and curious, and a great teammate. I imagine the hurdle to reentry will be learning the new POS systems, but I’m a quick study. I’m available for part time, night and weekend work. Thanks in advance for your consideration. All best, Asia Kate Dillon (they/them) #NYC".
Dillion told fans that one of her early jobs was at a bakery at the age of 15, and that she found jobs in a variety of feed service positions until acting began panning out.
"I love customer service," Dillon continued. "I love creating welcoming environments for people to relax in and connect with each other. I love food and drink."
But despite having high-profile acting roles, Dillion says that acting simply won't pay the bills.
"I imagine the hurdle to reentry will be learning the new POS systems, but I'm a quick study. I'm available for part time, night and weekend work," she concluded.
Instagram/asiakatedillon
Dillon is not the first LGBTQ actor to lament a loss of roles.
Actor Billy Porter said this year that queer actors can't make a living in "Donald Trump's America." And he claimed that Trump's "authoritarian" and "fascist" government is somehow holding queer actors back.
Peacock's Queer as Folk star Ryan O'Connell was also heard complaining that Hollywood has cut back on gay-themed projects. "It's Tim Allen's world again and we're just living in it," the actor and writer lamented.
https://www.instagram.com/asiakatedillon/p/DfMVItRsSbS/?hl=en
In another case, Matrix director Lilly Wachowski, who is transgender, blasted Hollywood for refusing to back an all-transgender action film.
But it isn't just queer actors who are having trouble making a living in today's entertainment industry.
Several actors including Princess Diaries star Heather Matarazzo and actor Jack Haven, have noted that roles have dried up for them, as well, and they are losing their union healthcare plans because they cannot make enough money in acting to meet the income threshold for union healthcare coverage benefits.
It is so bad that actor Drake Bell, most famous for his role on the Nickelodeon show Drake & Josh, publicly denounced actor's union SAG-AFTRA after the major Hollywood union said he failed to qualify for health insurance coverage.
"Do not become an actor. Do not join SAG. You can work for 35 years and they still say [middle finger emoji]," Bell wrote in a social media post in Oct.
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