Nickelodeon child star 'went broke at 25' and says 'pay wasn't that good'

15 July 2023 , 06:00

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Devon said the pay wasn't all that

Devon Werkheiser shot to fame when he was cast as the lead in Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, has revealed that he wasn't paid "as much as you'd think" on the hit Nickelodeon show.

The now 32-year-old played Ned Bigby in the show, which ran from 2005 to 2007 on the kids channel. The show followed Ned and his best friends Moze and Cookie at James K. Polk Middle School in California as the youngster shares tips and tricks on navigating middle school or junior high hurdles.

During filming, Devon was only 13 but being cast as the lead on his own show made him believe he would be set for life in industry, but he's recently admitted that he thought wrong.

"I was the lead on my own show and so I knew 100% I am meant to do and be great in this industry that I love," he said. "I'm meant to be in movies that are great, I'm meant to be in more shows that are great and I still haven't done anything as big as Ned's and that is some weird thing to reckon with that continues to humble me."

Devon played Ned in the 00s show (Nickelodeon)

When asked about how much he was paid for his first season of the show, he continued to tell The Ice Coffee Hour podcast: "Whatever it was, it's less than what any of you think it is."

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He then revealed that his pay per episode increased to "somewhere up between $10,000 and $15,000," for the final seasons, which is a huge difference to his first season pay, which he admitted was lower.

"Kids shows were always less, as a kid it was something you know, it's not nothing," Devon explained before adding that he doesn't get any royalties for Ned's because a "crazy deal" between Nickelodeon and the acting union AFTRA at the time meant leading actors didn't get any residuals while supporting actors did.

He blew his fortune by 25 (Instagram)

"The fact that it's sold all over the word repeatedly since and there's no residuals on it is just some shrewd business from Nickelodeon," he said. "We knew, I mean it's not like I didn't have lawyers and parents, no we knew exactly what we were signing they just will not change that."

Earlier this year, Devon shared that he was "living pretty modestly on savings" but they ran out by the time he was 25, resulting in him realising that he had to "start making a living."

Devon was 13 when he was cast as the lead (Nickelodeon)

He told Insider : "I was never ridiculous with my money, but I would eat out or go on trips when I wanted to. I'd always be living on my savings until the next job came and refilled it, then I'd live on my savings some more.

"Over the years, supporting-role jobs started paying less in the industry, and at the same time I was booking less and less."

Lauren Gordon