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23 times A-listers were paid a surprisingly low amount for iconic movie roles

julia roberts
Julia Roberts made $50,000 to star in "Mystic Pizza." Getty
  • Despite what you may think, not every starring role includes a million-dollar paycheck.

  • Jennifer Lopez said she starred in "Hustlers" for free.

  • Sharon Stone recently said she could not afford an Oscars dress after starring in "Basic Instinct."

  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

John Candy reportedly held "a little resentment" over being paid just $414 for his iconic cameo in "Home Alone."

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John Candy. Time Life Pictures/DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

Prior to appearing in "Home Alone," the actor and comedian had landed starring roles in "Splash," "Spaceballs," and "Uncle Buck," among others. In "Home Alone," Candy offers Kevin's mom, Kate, played by Catherine O'Hara, a ride back to Chicago to retrieve her son, so long as she doesn't mind riding in a truck with him and his polka band.

However, "Home Alone" director Chris Columbus told Insider's Jason Guerrasio in 2020 that the actor was displeased with his paycheck from the cameo, which was mostly improvised. Candy was paid $414 for his role in the movie, according to Netflix's "The Movies That Made Us."

"There was certainly a little resentment on John's part," Columbus said.

John Candy died in March 1994, roughly three years after "Home Alone" was released.

Jennifer Lopez was not paid a dollar for her critically acclaimed role in "Hustlers."

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Jennifer Lopez. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

"I didn't get paid a whole bunch of money for 'Hustlers,'" Lopez, who played a stripper called Ramona, told GQ in 2019. "I did it for free and produced it. I bank on myself. Like Jenny From the Block; I do what I want, I do what I love."

For her Oscar-winning role in "Boys Don't Cry," actress Hilary Swank was paid just $3,000.

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Hilary Swank. Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images

"I made $3,000. In order to have health insurance, you have to make $5,000. So I didn't even know that I didn't have health insurance until I went and tried to get a prescription filled," Swank said on Chelsea Handler's Netflix talk show, "Chelsea," in 2016. "They said, 'That's $160.' I went, 'Um, did you try my insurance?' They said, 'Mmm-hmm.' I had an Academy Award, no health insurance."

Sharon Stone said in a recent interview that she was paid "a little bit of money" for her role in "Basic Instinct" compared to costar Michael Douglas' $14 million.

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Sharon Stone in "Basic Instinct." TriStar Pictures/Guild Film Distribution/UGC

While Stone did not reveal exactly how much she was paid, she spoke to CBC in May 2021 about what it was like to have fame but little money following the movie's release in 1992.

"I didn't get paid to do 'Basic Instinct,'" she said. "I made a little bit of money. Michael made $14 million and has points. I made not enough money to buy my dress to go to the Oscars the next year. I was in this weird limbo where I was suddenly famous, but didn't have any money."

Douglas' representatives did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

To write, direct, and star in "Good Night, and Good Luck," George Clooney received an upfront salary of $3.

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George Clooney. Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

A passion project of Clooney's, "Good Night, and Good Luck" was nominated for six Academy Awards in 2006.

Jennifer Lawrence earned $3,000 a week for her Oscar-nominated role in "Winter's Bone."

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Jennifer Lawrence. Reuters/Mario Anzuoni

She also earned $500,000 for her breakout role as Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games."

But it was the film "American Hustle" that made Lawrence speak out about the gender pay gap in Hollywood. Lawrence and Amy Adams were paid less than their male co-stars.

"I failed as a negotiator because I gave up early," Lawrence wrote for Lenny Letter in 2015. "I didn't want to keep fighting over millions of dollars that, frankly, due to two franchises, I don't need."

For her role in "Halloween," Jamie Lee Curtis made $8,000.

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Jamie Lee Curtis. Jason Merritt/Getty Images

"I made $8,000," Curtis told People in 2018. "I made $2,000 a week, which at the time was a fortune."

She also bought her costume for the movie at JCPenney.

For his first Oscar-nominated role in "Half Nelson," Ryan Gosling earned only $1,000 a week, according to the Telegraph.

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Ryan Gosling. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Gosling, who was nominated for best actor for the movie, worked on the 2006 low-budget indie film after his success in "The Notebook."

Her Oscar-nominated role in "A Color Purple" earned Oprah Winfrey $35,000.

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Oprah Winfrey. Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Winfrey had been terrified she was going to be fired from the film.

"There was another movie — was it 'Mask'? — where somebody had recently been fired, and it had never occurred to me that you could be fired from a movie. But I did know that if there was anybody who could be fired, it would be me, because I didn't know what I was doing. Period," Winfrey told the LA Times in 2017.

The movie earned her a best supporting actress nod at the 1986 Academy Awards.

Today, that money would be a drop in a bucket to Winfrey's $2.7 billion net worth.

Jonah Hill accepted $60,000 to work with Martin Scorsese in "The Wolf of Wall Street."

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Jonah Hill. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

In an interview with Howard Stern in 2014, Hill said he'd make the same deal again if he had the chance.

"That was their offer and I said, 'I will sign the paper tonight,'" Hill said. "Fax them the papers tonight. I want to sign them tonight before they change their mind. I want to sign them before I go to sleep tonight so they legally can't change their mind."

Hill was nominated for best supporting actor at the 2014 Academy Awards for his work in the film.

Matthew McConaughey received $200,000 to star in "Dallas Buyers Club," according to The Hollywood Reporter. He won the Oscar for best actor for the role.

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Matthew McConaughey. Jason LaVeris/Getty Images

In 2010, McConaughey made the move to revitalize his career, which up to that point had consisted mainly of romantic comedies.

"Taking a year and a half off and saying no to things in some form or fashion made me a new good idea," McConaughey told The Hollywood Reporter in 2013.

He took home the Academy Award for best actor for his portrayal of AIDS patient Ron Woodruff in 2014.

For "All the Money in the World," Michelle Williams was paid much less than her co-star Mark Wahlberg, making $625,000 to his $5 million.

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Michelle Williams. Noam Galai/Getty Images

"No one cared," Williams said at a 2019 Equal Pay Day celebration. "This came as no surprise to me, it simply reinforced my life-learned belief that equality is not an inalienable right and that women would always be working just as hard for less money while shouldering more responsibility in their homes. … I've been accredited by my industry at the highest levels and that still didn't translate to equal and fair compensation."

For her solo "Wonder Woman" film, actress Gal Gadot reportedly earned $300,000. The movie made $821 million worldwide.

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Gal Gadot. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Her "Justice League" co-star Henry Cavill received a similar deal in his debut as Superman.

For his initial appearance in "Captain America: The First Avenger," Chris Evans reportedly earned $300,000.

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Chris Evans. Theo Wargo/Getty Images

But don't feel too bad for Evans, who earned a head-turning $43.5 million between June 2018 and June 2019 in large part due to his continued role as Captain America.

Bill Murray earned just $9,000 for his work on "Rushmore."

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Bill Murray. Ian Walton/Getty Images

The amount was revealed in Matt Seitz's book "The Wes Anderson Collection," in 2013, Business Insider previously reported.

For what it's worth, Murray and director Wes Anderson have collaborated on every movie Anderson has made since then.

"I've liked most of the characters I've played, but writing-wise they weren't all finished. I think 'Rushmore' is the first movie I've done in a while that's completely whole," Murray said.

For "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," then-newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega earned between $100,000 and $300,000.

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John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. Yoriko Nakao/Getty Images

Their co-star Harrison Ford was paid between $10 million to $20 million to return as the galaxy's favorite smuggler Han Solo, Variety reported.

For "Thelma and Louise," a young Brad Pitt was paid $6,000.

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Brad Pitt. Michael Kovac/Getty Images

Pitt's net worth is now $300 million with a usual pay of $20 million per movie.

Patricia Arquette said her babysitter was paid more than she was for working on the film "Boyhood."

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Patricia Arquette. Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images

"It's important to me as an actor to be able to make a living, but I'm going to tell you something — I paid more money to my babysitter and my dog walker than I made on 'Boyhood,' and to be in 'Boyhood!'" Arquette said in 2015.

She won an Oscar for best supporting actress for the role.

Dustin Hoffman reportedly made $17,000 for his breakout role in "The Graduate."

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Dustin Hoffman. Lars Niki/Getty Images

He was nominated for best actor at the 1968 Academy Awards for his role in the movie.

Julia Roberts made $50,000 to star in "Mystic Pizza" and only $300,000 for her iconic role in "Pretty Woman," according to the Los Angeles Times.

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Julia Roberts. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

A far cry from her "Pretty Woman" days, to star in the 2018 TV show "Homecoming," Roberts was paid $600,000 an episode.

To star in "Magnolia," Tom Cruise took a massive pay cut and made only $100,000.

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Tom Cruise. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Cruise met director Paul Thomas Anderson while filming "Eyes Wide Shut," and the two bonded over the loss of their fathers. "Magnolia" was born from this shared grief, and Cruise loved the script and agreed to star.

For his iconic role in "Pulp Fiction," John Travolta was paid $150,000.

John Travolta
John Travolta. Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Travolta's career has been one of lows and highs, but "Pulp Fiction" remains one of his most popular works.

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