Rebel’s not alone: The movie stars who were paid a pittance for big roles

THINK Rebel got a raw deal with her Bridesmaids pay cheque? She’s only the latest in a long line of Hollywood stars to provide their talent for little reward.

The role that set Brad Pitt on the path to worldwide fame earned him just a few thousand dollars. Picture: Getty

ONE of the more surprising details to emerge from Rebel Wilson’s record-breaking $4.5 million defamation win over Baeur Media is just how little the homegrown star got paid for her breakthrough Hollywood role.

Wilson was a scene-stealing flatmate from hell in the 2010 hit Bridesmaids, a movie that went on to gross $US288.4 million at the box office and was nominated for two Oscars.

For her work on the film, Wilson was paid just $US3000.

Bridesmaids was Wilson’s Hollywood breakthrough — but it didn’t help her bank account.

She’s far from alone in Hollywood, though — many notable actors have been paid a pittance for film work over the years, among them up-and-coming actors gambling on exposure rather than cash in breakthrough film roles, and established stars taking massive pay cuts to work on low-budget projects. Here are just a few examples:

Barkhad Abdi

Barkhad Abdi won a BAFTA for his work. Picture: AFP

He had the second-biggest role in 2013 pirate thriller Captain Phillips, providing the film’s most memorable line (“I’m the captain now”) and picking up an Oscar nomination for his efforts. Somalian-born Abdi was paid just $US65,000 for his work — a fraction of co-star Tom Hanks’ reported $US50 million payday from the film.

Brad Pitt

The camera loved Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise.

While he can command tens of millions of dollars per movie nowadays, back in 1991 Pitt was a struggling young actor looking for a big break. He found it with his memorable role as an attractive small-time criminal in Thelma and Louise — work for which he was paid just $US6000, but which quickly turned him into a bankable leading man.

Jonah Hill

Jonah Hill in a scene from film The Wolf of Wall Street

Hill wanted to work with director Martin Scorsese so badly on the Wolf of Wall Street that he was paid just $US60,000 for appearing in the film.

“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 later told Howard Stern.

“It’s not about money for me. None of this s*** is about money.”

George Clooney

Good Night and Good Luck was a labour of love for George Clooney.

Here’s an example of a mega-rich star taking a big pay cut for a passion project. Clooney pocketed $US120,000 for writing, directing and starring in the 2005 drama Good Night and Good Luck — a fraction of his usual $10-$20 million leading man salary.

Gal Gadot

Gal Gadot is a huge star thanks to her role as Diana in Wonder Woman, but her bank balance doesn’t yet reflect her star power.

OK, you’re probably not going to rush to set her up a Kickstarter when we tell you that Gadot was paid a tidy $US300,000 to star as Wonder Woman. But consider this: The film has so far grossed over $800 million at the worldwide box office, and fellow superhero star Robert Downey Jr negotiated his way into an over $US40 million payday for a Captain America movie (Captain America: Civil War). This case is not a gender thing, though: Captain America himself, Chris Evans, earned $US300,000 for his first film in the superhero franchise.

Ethan Hawke

Ethan Hawke in The Purge.

Hawke starred in the 2013 thriller The Purge for almost no money upfront — although he did get a portion of the film’s profits. “There were no perks,” he said in an interview. “No trailer, no driver, no BS, just a great role, a great director. Hell, on The Purge, I slept on his couch the whole shoot.”

Lindsay Lohan

This film image released by IFC Films shows Lindsay Lohan in a scene from "The Canyons." (AP Photo/IFC Films)

LiLo acted alongside porn star James Deen in the ultra low-budget 2013 ‘erotic-thriller-drama’ The Canyons. The little-seen film was savaged by critics — and Lohan reportedly earned just $US100 per day during the shoot.

The cast of The Walking Dead

Times are tough on The Walking Dead. Picture: AMC

For years now, some of the most eye-watering actor salaries exist over in TV land, with stars of hit sitcoms from Friends to Seinfeld to Big Bang Theory able to demand more than $US1 million per episode — not bad for a week’s work. But while The Walking Dead is one of the biggest show in the US, until a recent salary renegotiation its leading actors were earning around $US60-90,000 per episode. Supporting players took home even less.

The real reason for the low salaries may lie with the very nature of the show: Bloody and brutal, the zombie-ruled universe of The Walking Dead is a place where anyone can be killed at any time ... even the most beloved of characters. Pushing for a pay rise? You might just get eaten by a zombie in your next episode.