In their journey to their current glory, some stars initially received extremely small salaries for starring in the films that made them famous.
Some of them do not receive commensurate high incomes due to the gender pay gap; Others are willing to accept low salaries because of the low budget for the film, or because it's just their first film in the industry.
Whatever the reason, the huge gap between fame and wealth between these actors may surprise you.
From John Travolta to Lindsay Lohan, let's take a look at the unexpectedly low salaries these actors received that year.
All amounts are in U.S. dollars (USD).
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is known for his famous voice acting as Darth Vader, but a re-emerged clip from the American Film Institute shows that director George Lucas paid only $7,000 for his iconic voice over in the first Star Wars film.
Although the late actor David Prowse wore a costume in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), Lucas wanted a "deep voice," as Jones explains, "so he hired someone who was born in Mississippi, raised in Michigan, and had a stutter." That's the sound. That's me. ”
Interestingly, when Jones explained how much money he made for the role, he was actually just excited about it. "I took shit luck and got a job that paid $7,000 out of all these so-called obstacles! I think that's a lot of money," Jones told the American Film Institute. "And I can be the voice of a movie! Of course, the franchise went on to become one of the most lucrative franchises in history, and Jones certainly earned more for his subsequent work.
Tom Cruise
In Magnolia (1999), Cruise was unusually paid for his point of being one of the highest-paid actors. He made $100,000 for the role.
Jonah Hill
In the film The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Jonah Hill was so thrilled to get the role that he accepted $60,000, even though Leonardo DiCaprio was paid $10 million!
Brad Pitt
In "Flowers of the End" (1991), Brad Pitt, who was still young at the time, accepted a low salary of only $6,000. At least that gave him other roles on the Hollywood map.
George Clooney
He was so successful that apparently he didn't even need a salary. He played Fred Flandley in Good Night, Good Luck (2005) and earned $3 upfront.
Dustin Hoffman
In the film The Graduate (1967), Hoffman paid only $17,000 for his breakthrough role. It's definitely worth the money, as he's now worth around $50 million.
Gal Gadot
Incredibly, Gal Gadot's salary in the beloved superhero film Wonder Woman (2017) is only $300,000. 8$2.1 billion may seem like a lot compared to that, but it's actually insignificant. However, for the sequel to the film, she earned $10 million.
Jamie Donan
The handsome star paid just $100,000 for the role of Christian Gray in Fifty Shades of Grey (2015). Luckily, to make sure he appeared in the sequel, he was paid $6.92 million after the release of his first film.
Matthew McConaughey
McConaughey won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film Dallas Buyers Club (2013), but he didn't make much. He earns $200,000 for his time.
John Travolta
In the film "Vulgar**" (1994), John Travolta played one of the main characters, Vincent Vega. However, his salary is only $150,000. This is in stark contrast to the $20 million salary he received for Operation Swordfish (2001).
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey used to be a well-known actress before starting her own talk show. In the wonderful movie "The Color Purple" (1985), her salary was only $35,000.
Chris Evans
Like Gal Gadot, despite being the absolute star of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Chris Evans was paid only $300,000 in this film. But don't feel too sorry for him: Forbes reports that he earned between $15 million and $20 million in Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Jennifer Lopez
Lopez didn't pay a penny for her role as Ramona in the film Dancing Girl Thief (2019). But as one of the film's producers, she will see profits. The film had a production budget of about $20 million and grossed $1 worldwide$57.6 billion.
Ryan Gosling
In the film Half Nelson (2006), Gosling played a drug-addicted teacher who was paid just $1,000 a week.
Hilary Swank
Although she won an Oscar for her role in "Boys Don't Cry" (1999), Swank's salary was only $3,000. Her salary doesn't even qualify for Medicare!
Jim Carrey
When Jim Carrey first accepted the role of Carl in Yes (2008), he didn't get a penny. However, he negotiated an agreement to receive 36. of the profits made at the time of the film's release2%。The film wasn't expected to do too well, but luckily it was a huge success and he ended up making a fortune.
Kelly Washington
Here are some differences. For the TV series "Scandal", Washington is paid $250,000 per episode. Of course, that's quite a lot. However, compared to others who have participated in popular TV series, such as getting 52 per episode from NCIS$50,000 Mark Harmon, it looks much smaller.
Lindsay Lohan
In the film Canyon (2013), poor Lindsay Lohan received only $7,000. It seems that her past has caught up with her career.
Julia Roberts
On her way to fame, she accepted a number of low-paying roles. For example, the character in "Modern Cinderella" (1988) is only $50,000.
One of the most important films of her career, Pretty Woman (1990), also did not pay a good salary to the lead actors. She made $300,000 and her partner Richard Gere made millions of dollars!
John Candy (1950-1994).
Although his cameo role in Home Alone (1990) was short, it was certainly memorable. He was in charge of getting Kevin's mom home. However, Candy's salary is only $414.
Jennifer Lawrence
For her critically acclaimed role in the film "Winter's Bones" (2010), Lawrence earned just $3,000 a week.
Lawrence also paid only $500,000 for his role as Katniss Everding in the film The Hunger Games (2012). This may seem like a lot considering how successful the movie was, but it's actually a lot of money. But don't feel too sorry for her: she made $10 million for the sequel, and the last two films earned her $30-40 million.
But Lawrence was once again paid less than normal in the movie "America" (2013). She claimed that the female members of the film were paid less because of their gender. She gets 7% of the profits, while men get 9%.
Patricia Arquette
Arquette won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the film Boyhood (2014). However, she said in an interview that she was paid less than she paid her nanny.
Jamie Lee Curtis
In the hit film Halloween (1978), Jamie Lee Curtis earned only about $2,000 a week. She only made $8,000 in total.
Michelle Williams
In the film "Money World" (2017), Williams was paid 62$50,000. It may seem like a lot, but it's not much compared to the staggering $5 million her partner Mark Wahlberg has earned.
Bill Murray
Wes Anderson and Bill Murray have collaborated in most of the director's films. But for the movie "Youth" (1998), Murray's salary was only $9,000.
Daisy Ridley and John Boyega
In Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), the two actors earned between $100,000 and $300,000. That's very little compared to the $20 million salary Harrison Ford received from the film.
Spencer Lacey Gnass
You may not know her name, but she voiced teenage Elsa in the hugely popular Disney film Frozen (2013). But she was only paid $926 for her role. Even though the film grossed $1.2 billion worldwide, the royalty checks weren't much different — they totaled $10,000.