Former child star Danny Pintauro, best known for playing Jonathan Bower on the hit sitcom “Who’s the Boss?” recently revealed that he has been driving for Amazon Flex as he works to navigate a difficult entertainment industry and revive his acting career.
“Working hard while ‘not working,’” Pintauro, 50, wrote on Instagram. “38 packages today!”
“There’s no shame in staying in motion,” he added.
Pintauro, who appeared on all eight seasons of the beloved ABC sitcom alongside Tony Danza, Judith Light and Alyssa Milano, opened up to TODAY.com about the realities of trying to make it in Hollywood decades after his child-star fame.
Though posting about the job felt vulnerable, Pintauro says he never felt ashamed.
“The business has changed so dramatically,” he says.
Pintauro described pilot season in the 1980s and ‘90s as “nuts,” recalling a time when roughly 100 pilots were produced each year and aspiring actors flocked to Los Angeles hoping to land roles. Now, he says, opportunities have dwindled so sharply that one network recently ordered just eight pilots, a sign, he says, of how much the industry has shrunk for actors trying to find work today.
Los Angeles, he says and Film LA reported, had roughly 18,560 shoot days in 2021; by 2024, that number had fallen to just 7,716.
For Pintauro, driving for Amazon Flex is simply practical. He says the job’s flexible schedule allows him to keep auditioning while earning money, and gives him a level of privacy that more public-facing work would not.
“I take a picture and walk away. No one sees me,” he says, noting that the most common response he hears online is from fans joking that they would be thrilled if he showed up at their door with a delivery.
By sharing his experience publicly, Pintauro says he also hopes to break the stigma around actors taking regular jobs between roles.
“Honest work is not embarrassing,” he says.
Many other actors are also taking on outside work — including driving for Amazon Flex — though Pintauro declined to name names.
“We’re all pivoting.”
Pintauro says that many people misunderstand the finances of being a former television star, noting that residuals from a sitcom that aired in the 1980s are not enough to live on. Instead, he says he has spent recent years juggling multiple jobs while trying to rebuild his acting career, including teaching, running his acting coaching business, “The Resonant Actor,” and building decorative book nooks.
Pintauro says he remains hopeful that his next chapter in Hollywood is still ahead. He acknowledges that returning to the industry has come with added challenges, including being openly gay, living with HIV, and still carrying the public perception of Jonathan Bower decades after “Who’s the Boss?” ended. But despite the obstacles, he says, he remains confident that the right opportunity will come.
“A surprising number of people are like, ‘Have patience. I can feel that there is something coming for you,’” Pintauro tells TODAY.com. “So I just have to be patient.”
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