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Jonah Hill explains why he did The Wolf of Wall Street for just $60,000
Featured Image Credit: PA/Paramount Pictures

Jonah Hill explains why he did The Wolf of Wall Street for just $60,000

Leonardo DiCaprio was paid $10 million for his part in it, but Jonah Hill got just $60,000

It's almost a decade since The Wolf of Wall Street was released in cinemas and ended up being a massive success for pretty much everyone involved.

It was definitely one of those movies pretty much anyone in showbusiness would want to be part of, and Jonah Hill did more than most to make sure he was cast in the film.

By the time he was cast in The Wolf of Wall Street he'd already demonstrated his comedic chops in a slew of movies such as Superbad, Megamind and 21 Jump Street.

Hill had also shown he could also keep up with some of the biggest names in Hollywood in more serious pieces, as shown by his performance in Moneyball.

Still, he couldn't pass up the chance to work with a director as legendary as Martin Scorsese and didn't mind taking one hell of a paycut to make it happen.

Jonah Hill took minimum wage to be in The Wolf of Wall Street.
Michael Tran / Contributor

While he showed he was definitely good enough not to be just a budget hire, he was so eager to work with Scorsese that he once said he'd have been willing to 'sell my house and give him all my money' to make it happen.

Leonardo DiCaprio was paid $10 million for his performance as sleazy stockbroker Jordan Belfort, while Hill received just $60,000 for his efforts.

"They gave me the lowest amount of money possible," Hill said in 2014 on The Howard Stern Show.

"That was their offer and I said, 'I will sign the paper tonight. 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'. I would sell my house and give him all my money to work for him."

He just really wanted to work with Martin Scorsese.
Cindy Ord / Stringer

While he could probably have negotiated a higher payday, he was so eager to work with Scorsese that he agreed to take the legal minimum according to rules laid down by the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG).

Speaking of SAG, last month they announced that they'd be joining the writer's strike against studios and streamers.

The ongoing strikes aim to secure fairer deals on pay and residuals, with actors joining the strike saying it's a 'last resort' after weeks of talks did not result in a solution.

Since they've joined the writers on strike it means the actors can't do 'principal on-camera work' which basically means anything that could end up on the big screen including performance capture roles.

Signing new contracts is also out, as is doing promotional work as evidenced when the Oppenheimer cast walked out of their own premiere in solidarity.

Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Jonah Hill