Stars who were paid surprisingly little for their roles — Star Wars to Hustlers
Everyone loves an inspirational story of humble beginnings and there is no lack of them in Hollywood. From Harrison Ford to Jennifer Lopez, many famous A-list stars have at one time been paid small amounts for some of their most iconic performances on the big screen.
We're taking a deeper dive into some of these famous faces spanning decades who were paid shockingly little for their performance that placed them on the map for years to come. Some famous examples including Harrison Ford in Star Wars: A New Hope, Christian Bale from American Psycho, Dustin Hoffman from The Graduate, Jamie Lee Curtis from the original Halloween movie, Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers, and Adam Levine in Begin Again.
Harrison Ford from Star Wars: A New Hope
Harrison Ford was paid very little for his performance as Han Solo in Star Wars: A New Hope (©1977 Lucas Films)Even one of the most memorable actors of sci-fi history was paid surprisingly little for his early roles. When Harrison Ford starred in Star Wars: A New Hope back in 1977 he was paid very little for his performance as Han Solo.
When Harrison was casted to play the one of the great leaders of the Rebel Alliance he was virtually unknown in Hollywood. In the early film, the actor was paid $10,000, according to Parade. But after his iconic performance, his salary quickly shot up as the actor was offered $500,000 for the next two sequels of the popular movie franchise. By the time Harrison starred in The Force Awakens he was making $15 million plus for the movie.
In an interview with Parade, the actor admitted he wasn't always passionate about the craft and was actually a "late bloomer." He told the news outlet that the only season he started acting was because he was trying to overcome his "shyness" during his senior year of college.
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He told the news outlet: "I was a poor student. I read the beginning of the description, which said we’d read and discuss plays, and I thought that was fine. I didn’t read the end, where it said you had to be in plays, so that was a bit of a surprise...I was a bit of a loner, and this was the first group of people that I felt I was comfortable with — and they were all, you know, the usual geeks and misfits and oddballs that make up the acting community.”
Christian Bale from American Psycho
Christian Bale paid the 'bare minimum' for his role as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho (National Press)Christian Bale, famous for his impressive performance as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, said that he was paid the "bare minimum" for his role in the hit 2000s horror-thriller.
Despite already landing roles in movies like Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun" and Disney's "Newsies," he still wasn't paid a large sum for his role as Patrick - a serial killer who also works on Wall Street. It was reported that the studio originally wanted Leonardo DiCaprio casted for the role but left the project due to creative differences with the makers.
In an interview with GQ, Christian said: "They had paid me the absolute minimum they were legally allowed to pay me." He continued: "Nobody wanted me to do it except the director. So they said they would only make it if they could pay me that amount. I was prepping for it when other people were playing the part. I was still prepping for it."
In the interview, Christian recalled being on the set of American Psycho and the makeup artists poking fun at him because he was being paid less than they were. He revealed that he was in a difficult spot during that time financially as he, his dad, and his sister were all sharing a home that was getting repossessed.
But despite being offered a small amount, Christian's performance in the famous film led him down a path to Hollywood stardom. After American Psycho, Christian continued to have an incredibly successful career in Hollywood landing the famous role of the superhero Batman in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises.
Dustin Hoffman from The Graduate
Dustin Hoffman was paid so little for his role in The Graduate that he needed to file for unemployment benefits (PDUnknown)Dustin Hoffman, who played 21-year-old Benjamin Braddock in the classic romantic comedy-drama The Graduate in 1967 was paid only $20,000 for his role in the Mike Nichols film which left him just about $4,000 after taxes and living expenses. After Dustin spent the money the actor was focused to file for New York State unemployment benefits and only received $55 a week while he was living in a two-bedroom apartment in the West Village in New York City.
The Graduate follows the story of a young college graduate named Benjamin, who is struggling to figure out his purpose in life. During the film the young man is seduced by an attractive older woman named Mrs. Robinson but ends up falling in love with her younger daughter, Elaine. The film was met with great commercial success grossing $104.9 million in the U.S. and Canada.
According to Entertainment Weekly, famous actors including Robert Redford and Warren Beatty were also in the running for the role of Benjamin, but Nichols chose Dustin because he thought the other actors were "too handsome and confident" for the role of uncertain main character.
After The Graduate, Dustin found great success in Hollywood landing roles in over 61 different movies throughout his career including Runaway Jury, Lenny, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, Sleepers, and many more.
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Jamie Lee Curtis from Halloween
Jamie Lee Curis paid very little for her debut Halloween movie in 1978 (Daily Record)Jamie Lee Curis - now coined the "Scream Queen" - is famous for her iconic long-running Laurie Strode in the Halloween franchise. During her beginning role in the first 1978 Halloween movie the actress was reportedly only paid $8,000 for her performance and given only $200 to spend to buy her own clothes for the movie.
The original Halloween movie followed a mentally ill patient, Michael Myers, who was committed to a mental hospital after murdering his younger teenage sister on Halloween night when he was six years old. After the killing, Michael was locked away for 15 years but on October 30, 1978, while being transferred out of the institution for a court date, he stole a car and escaped to his hometown. After returning, Michael stalks his old babysitter Laurie and her friends on Halloween day while his psychiatrist frantically tries to track him down.
The horror film was met with amazing success making over $47 million at the box office. After Jamie's first two horror movies, the actress saw an astounding jump in her salary. For "Halloween H20" Jamie reportedly made $5 million ad in 2002’s "Halloween Resurrection" she earned $3 million.
Jennifer Lopez from Hustlers
Jennifer Lopez said that she produced and starred in Hustlers for 'free' (STX Films)Jennifer Lopez chose her passion for acting over money for her box office hit "Hustlers" admitting that she was paid "nothing" for the film which brought in over $150 million domestically following its release in 2019.
Jennifer starred and produced in the comedy-crime admitting revealing in an interview with GQ that not only did she produce the film for free she has also "never been motivated by money." She told the news outlet: "I did it for free and produced it. I bank on myself. That’s the Jenny from the Block. I do what I want, I do what I love."
The movie followers a crew of New York City strippers who begin to steal money by drugging stock traders and CEOs who visit their club and using their credit cards. The movie was based on the real-life story published in New York magazine's 2015 article "The Hustlers at Scores" written by Jessica Pressler.
Jennifer in the interview revealed that a lot of time and energy went into her role as the stripper Ramona in the film. She told the news outlet: "Obviously, for the pole dancing and to be playing a stripper, I was going to be showing a lot of skin and my body in a way that I hadn’t ever before. So it was a lot of training, strength training and pole dancing training. It was really, really difficult."
Adam Levine from Begin Again
Adam Levine says that he starred in the rom-com Begin Again for freeSimilar to JLo, Adam Levine, who famous too for his voice - he is the lead singer of the pop group Maroon 5. He also was paid nothing for his role as Dave in the rom-com Begin Again released in 2013 starring Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo.
In the hit rom-com Adam played Dave, the Gretta's - played by Keria - longterm boyfriend who is a successful musician that cheats on her with one of his producers' assistants. She breaks up with Dave after discovering the affair but the pair briefly reconnect after the breakup when they meet up to dissect each other's new albums as they were both aspiring musicians.
After filming Adam told USA Today that he acted in the film for free. He shared with the news outlet: "I did this movie for no money. I'm very lucky that I'm in that position," and continued: "I want to have good experiences. I don't want to do a bunch of [expletive] that I hate. I want to treat [acting] completely differently because I have the very fortunate luxury of not having to think of this in terms of money."
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