Mark Wahlberg's $900k Clause For Anne Hathaway Robbed Him of a Role in Movie With 8 Oscar Nods
Sometimes a strange request ends a long collaboration between a director and an actor.
David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook received eight Oscar nominations and won one in the Best Actress category – the first Oscar for Jennifer Lawrence.
The director once said that one of the main reasons he chose Bradley Cooper for the main role was because when he saw his work, he noticed that Cooper sometimes looked very angry and tried to suppress it, which was necessary for the character of Pat.
However, it turns out that the movie could have been very different. The director originally wanted Mark Wahlberg and Anne Hathaway to star.
Russell and Wahlberg have a long and productive history of collaboration – Mark has starred in three of the director's movies – Three Kinds, I Heart Huckabees, The Fighter, and Silver Linings Playbook would be their fourth project together.
However, this time Mark Wahlberg's contract included an unusual condition – the actor had to receive compensation of $900,000 if Anne Hathaway left the project.
Apparently, the actor was moved by worrying about the fate of the movie starring him if the project lost such a big star as Hathaway.
But this clause spoiled everything – as a result, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence were cast for the main roles, and it is quite possible that financial risks of almost $ 1 million were not the last reason for such a decision.
Silver Linings Playbook tells a story about former schoolteacher Pat, who spent eight months in a psychiatric hospital for assaulting his wife's lover, and is released into parental custody.
Pat is confident that he can save his marriage and hopes to do so with the help of his new friend, Tiffany. But she also has to deal with mental health problems.
With eight Oscar nominations, Silver Linings Playbook became the first movie since Reds to be nominated in all four acting categories, and the first movie since Million Dollar Baby to be nominated in the Big Five (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay).
Director David O. Russell repeated the rare feat the following year with American Hustle. Budgeted at $21 million, Silver Linings Playbook went on to gross $236 million worldwide.