Jonah Hill was so desperate to work with Martin Scorsese that he took the SAG minimum salary to be in The Wolf of Wall Street.
Scorsese thought he was taking a risk by casting a comedic actor in such a large role. Hill’s only notable dramatic performance prior to The Wolf of Wall Street was Moneyball, where he starred alongside Brad Pitt.
Knowing this, Hill jumped on the opportunity to work with Scorcese for the minimum salary immediately.
“I said, ‘I will sign the paper tonight. Fax me the papers tonight.’ I want to sign them tonight before they change their mind. I said I want to sign them before I go to sleep tonight so they legally can’t change their mind.”
He got paid $60,000. In contrast, reports say that Leonardo DiCaprio was paid somewhere around $25 million upfront.
Margot Robbie earned significantly less at an estimated $667,000 but still more than Hill, who was billed second for the movie.
To put those salaries into perspective, the film’s budget was $100 million and made a gross revenue of $392 million.
I have a feeling it was worth it for Hill to take that pay cut. After all, he was given an Oscar nomination for his role shortly afterwards.
As Hill put it,
“I would sell my house and give him all my money to work for (Scorsese). I would have done anything in the world. I would do it again in a second.”
Nǃxau ǂToma was paid $300 for his role in a movie that made more than $60 million.
Nǃxau ǂToma was the main character in the popular movie The Gods Must Be Crazy. He deserved more for his role in the movie. He was a local farmer who had no knowledge of the value of paper money and so could not negotiate a better deal.
The movie shot him to international recognition and made him a “poor celebrity”.
For his role in subsequent movies, he demanded better pay.
One film, EVERYONE was begging for a part, any part…Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Nicolas Cage, Al Pacino, Gary Oldman, Mathew McConaughey, Ed Norton, Kevin Costner, Viggo Mortensen.
Sorry guys.
Terrence Malick sent them all home.
Bruce Willis even said that he would pay the crew to be in the movie. That was a fair offer, don’t you think?
Sorry, Bruce. Go home to Demi.
Sean Penn said that he would take any part for one dollar.
Terrence Malick had to think about that one. It was a tough call, but the man widely regarded as the world’s greatest actor should get a part for one dollar. Okay, Malick said, you’re in.
Malick picked a few more that were willing to work for almost nothing: Woody Harrelson, John Travolta, George Clooney, Adrien Brody, Nick Nolte, John Cusack and Jared Leto, among others.
Billy Bob Thornton got cut during editing as did Mickey Rourke and Bill Pullman.
Terrence Malick, the writer, director, producer and editor had his A-list cast that worked for 129 days in three countries, shooting The Thin Red Line.
The movie came in, not surprisingly, well under budget. 20th-Century Fox made a huge profit as the film grossed 98 million dollars in theaters. It was even nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Motion Picture. Scorcese called it the second best movie of the decade. At The Movies host, Gene Siskel, called it “the best contemporary war picture I have ever seen”.
And Sean Penn? He was given a few extra dollars. The exact amount is still a secret, but he did write a nasty letter to 20th-Century Fox demanding that he be flown by private jet to the world premiere of The Thin Red Line. The cost of the flight was $6000, about the equivalent of what he said he received for the movie.
