5 Actors With The Lowest Paychecks For Their Iconic Roles
Getting paid $25 a day to play an iconic villain is a big red flag.
While some actors are paid millions for just one episode of a show, there are instances where even A-listers make surprisingly less than you'd expect.
From Han Solo to Wonder Woman, here are 5 popular actors who have proven that passion and dedication to creating memorable characters can sometimes outweigh the size of the paycheck.
5. Gal Gadot: $300,000
After nearly giving up on acting, Gal Gadot landed a game-changing role in Wonder Woman that has propelled her career to new heights. Surprisingly, despite the massive success of the film, which grossed over $800 million worldwide, her first paycheck for the iconic role was only $300,000.
4. Tom Hanks: $50,000
The famous actor behind the role of Woody in the Toy Story franchise didn't start out with a huge paycheck for his role back in 1998. Tom Hanks received around $50,000 for his work in the first Toy Story film, but as the franchise grew in popularity and success, Hanks' compensation increased significantly.
He earned $5 million for the sequel, and by the time Toy Story 3 was released, his paycheck had reached an impressive $15 million.
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3. Harrison Ford: $ 10,000
Despite initially turning down the $1,000-a-week offer for his iconic role in the Star Wars saga, Ford eventually accepted the deal. Although he may not have liked the salary at the time, his decision to accept the iconic role of space smuggler Han Solo proved to be a defining moment in his career.
2. Brad Pitt: $956
In an unexpected move in 2018, Brad Pitt made a cameo appearance as The Vanisher in the Deadpool sequel. Brad accepted the role for a minimal salary of $956 and a special request for a cup of coffee from Starbucks, which had to be delivered to him on the set by Ryan Reynolds, aka Deadpool himself.
1. Nick Castle: $25 a day
Nick Castle is credited with creating the iconic character of Michael Myers, whom Castle portrayed in the 1978 film Halloween. Castle's performance as the masked serial killer became synonymous with the horror genre and a shining example of when devotion to the film is more important than a paycheck.
According to the actor, he was only paid $25 a day, but that didn't bother him. Castle just wanted to be on the set, with no expectation of being paid at all.
