Working For Peanuts: 8 Actors Who Received Less Than $1,000 For A Movie Role
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Hollywood celebrities make millions of dollars just by starring in a single movie especially those with big names. However it is not the case for some actors. There are times that the actor chooses not to get paid for doing a certain role and others just do not have a choice at all. They say that if you are a huge star, you get a huge paycheck for starring in a film, however that is not applicable to some artists as some of them received nothing to play a role in a film. Listed below are the actors who got paid less than $1,000 for starring in a film.
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez does not really work for free but when she does, it should be on her own terms. JLo starred for the movie Hustlers without receiving a dime. The movie grossed about $148,000,000 in the worldwide box office and she did it for free. She was rewarded at the end since she was the one who produced it and she made tons of money from it as a producer. She said in an interview that she bank on herself and just like Jenny from the block, she does what she wants and does what she loves.
John Candy
John Candy did a cameo on one of the highest-grossing domestic comedy in the movie history, Home Alone. Despite the movie grossing over $285,761,243 on domestic box office, Candy only received a paycheck amounting to $414 for his cameo. John Candy only agreed for such deal because he is doing it as a favor for the screenwriter and the producer of the movie, John Hughes. According to the director of the film, Chris Columbus, John did have some resentment afterwards on the turn out of the movie.
George Clooney
When George Clooney starred in the film Good Night, and Good Luck, he only received $3 for it. In fact, he only received $3 for writing, directing and starring on the said film. During one of his interviews, he said that the reason he did it was because it was his way of thanking his journalist father who set the bar that high. He considers it as his love letter to his father who taught him the responsibility of information and then taking it to the next level where it eventually costs him at a lot over the years.
John Heder
The producers of the film Napoleon Dynamite got lucky when John Heder agreed to do the film for $1000. John Heder who is famously known for the movie Napoleon Dynamite was only paid $1,000 for his work for the said film. It is an absolute bargain especially when the movie grossed over $44.5 million at the box office. After seeing that the film is doing well on the box office, and seeing that the film is becoming a box office hit, he renegotiated for a percentage of the profits which the producers happily gave him.
Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee believes that portraying Lord Summerisle in the film The Wicker Man is one of the greatest roles of his career. For that reason alone, he agreed to do the film for free. He mentioned in one of his interviews that he was paid nothing for his portrayal of Lord Summerisle and people do not seem to believe his words. He said that he did it because if he will be charging the producers his normal fee, the rest of the cast will charge their normal fee as well which will eventually end in not doing the movie overall.
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan has always admired director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and because of this, when he was offered the role in the movie, Black, he agreed to do it for free. Bachchan said that he has always wanted to work with Sanjay after he saw his other works and he admired the director so much that working with him is enough payment for his work. He always dreamt of working with the director which is why he refused to accept any payment for the movie.
Gunnar Hansen
When Gunnar Hansen played the Leatherface for the film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, he was only paid $800. Considering that he has to wear the same outfit for the entire duration of the film and filming under tight schedule, received $800 would not cut it especially that he worked for the movie seven days a week and for twelve to sixteen hours a day. He thinks that he would have made much more money if he worked for McDonald's for the number of hours he has worked for the movie.
Adam Levine
The film Begin Again is Adam Levine’s acting debut in the big screen and he received nothing for doing the movie. Adam Levine said in one of his interview that he does music for a living, and he wanted to treat acting differently and for that reason, he does want to receive money for acting. He added that he is fortunate enough to have the luxury to do such thing not for money but for good experiences which he does treasure even today.
Sources: Pop Buzz, Buzz Feed, Spooky Isles
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