Featured Image Credit: Image Press Agency/Alamy Stock Photo/Paramount Pictures
Topics: Jonah Hill, Film and TV, Celebrity, Oscars
Joe Harker
Topics: Jonah Hill, Film and TV, Celebrity, Oscars
Jonah Hill only got paid $60,000 for his role in The Wolf of Wall Street but it turns out there was a very good reason behind this seemingly slim payment.
Leading star Leonardo DiCaprio was paid about $10 million for his performance as sleazy stockbroker Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street, but co-star Jonah Hill only walked away with $60,000.
For most people, that's still one hell of a payday but for a major part in one of the biggest movies of the year, it's incredibly low.
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It's actually the lowest amount he could have been paid, according to the rules set down by the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG).
Having already proved his comedy skills in movies like Superbad and his dramatic chops in the likes of Moneyball, Hill could have commanded a multi-million dollar fee for his part in The Wolf of Wall Street and been worth every penny.
However, the actor had a very good reason for taking the minimum amount to ensure he landed the role.
It's as simple as this - Hill really wanted to work with director Martin Scorsese and was happy to be paid as little as possible so he could land the role ahead of anyone else.
He's previously spoken about the decision to sign onto the movie for minimum wage, explaining that his decision was 'not about the money' and all about getting to work with Scorsese.
Speaking on The Howard Stern show back in 2014, Hill said: "They gave me the lowest amount of money possible."
He explained his longing to work with Scorsese, adding: "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."
While he might have been due a bigger payday had he held out for more money, it's hard to see how the decision could have gone much better after The Wolf of Wall Street turned out to be one of the biggest movies of 2013 and ended up being nominated for a shedload of Oscars.
In the end the movie lost out on the Best Picture award to 12 Years A Slave, while DiCaprio missed out on the Best Actor gong as it went to Matthew McConaughey for his role in Dallas Buyers Club.
Hill and Scorsese were also up for major awards for their part in it, but Hill lost out to Jared Leto for the Best Supporting Actor award and Alfonso Cuaron took home the Best Director Oscar for Gravity.
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