Top 10 actors who won’t take a role unless they get paid in cold, hard cash
If you’re an actor in Hollywood and you’ve been tapped to star in a major blockbuster, there’s one surefire way to get the deal closed – demand that they pay you in cold hard cash instead of just offering you a cut of the profits or something along those lines. Sounds crazy right? But it’s not actually that uncommon for actors to charge such fees – especially when their names are as big as the 10 stars on this list…
1) Al Pacino
Al Pacino has starred in several big blockbusters over the years and has made millions of dollars as an actor. His most famous roles include Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana from Scarface, and Lt. Col. Frank Slade from Scent of a Woman. This is one actor who knows when to say no to the script if it doesn’t pay well enough!
2) Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey is an American actor and producer. He began his acting career on the stage, appearing on Broadway before taking supporting roles in film and television. His breakthrough performance was as the lead in the 1994 film The Usual Suspects. He has since earned Academy Award nominations for his roles in American Beauty (1999) and L.A. Confidential (1998).
3) Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson is one of the most iconic and talented actors to ever grace the silver screen. He has been on countless Hollywood classics. When he was negotiating for his salary for his next film, The Departed with Martin Scorcese he demanded $10 million upfront plus 30% of the gross for this film. He then made an additional $12 million from his share of the box office. This would be equivalent to over $18 million today when accounting for inflation.
4) Will Smith
Will Smith is one of the most famous Hollywood stars and his films have grossed more than $6 billion worldwide. He’s one of the few A-list celebrities to turn down roles because he doesn’t want to be typecast. The star has been very vocal about not doing sequels for money, but rather taking on new parts that challenge him as an actor. However, there are some exceptions to this rule.
5) Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise is the absolute king of negotiating for big money. He famously negotiated his way up to $14 million for Mission Impossible II and then again with $20 million for Vanilla Sky. And he’s not shy about it either: he’s been quoted as saying that he’ll never do another movie for less than $20 million.
6) Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt is one of the most sought after Hollywood stars. He’s starred in blockbusters like Ocean’s Eleven and Fight Club. When it came time to negotiate his salary for Troy, Pitt negotiated for a 20 million dollar salary as opposed to 15 million dollars. The studio refused his request and he walked away from the project. A lot of people would consider this to be career suicide but Brad Pitt is worth over 100 million dollars so he can afford to turn down jobs that don’t pay enough.
7) Angelina Jolie
When Jolie first moved to Hollywood she was told her acting career would be short-lived. But the Salt actress defied the odds and became one of the biggest female stars in Hollywood. In 2007, Forbes ranked Jolie as Hollywood’s most powerful actress and she has been on their list ever since.
In addition to starring in major films like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Maleficent, and Mr. & Mrs.
8) Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence is one of the most sought after actresses in Hollywood. She has starred in multiple blockbuster movies and has won an Academy Award. With all of this success, it’s no wonder that she is also one of the highest paid actresses. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jennifer Lawrence was the second-highest earning actress for two years running, earning $52 million from June 2014 to June 2015.
9) Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock is one of the highest-paid actresses in the world. She’s often at or near the top of Forbes’ annual list of Hollywood’s best-paid actresses, and her most recent film — Gravity — is nominated for seven Oscars. The mom of two has been nominated four times before winning the Oscar for Best Actress back in 2010.
10) Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp is one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood. He’s been a household name since the 1990s and has starred in some of the most successful films of all time like Edward Scissorhands and Pirates of the Caribbean. But recently his career has taken a turn for the worse with critically panned films like Mortdecai and Transcendence. His last two movies have not even grossed $10 million dollars at the domestic box office.