12 Actors Who’ve Made Zero, Zilch, Nada From Successful Projects

2 years ago

Most of the time, famous actors receive thousands of dollars for their participation in series and movies. But this is not always the case. There are those who, on occasion, choose not to charge a single penny. Or they decide to give their earnings to other people.

At Now I’ve Seen Everything we wanted to talk about the celebrities who’ve played important roles without receiving or pocketing financial remuneration for them.

1 and 2. Rebecca Hall and Timothée Chalamet: A Rainy Day in New York

The romantic comedy A Rainy Day in New York received mostly positive reviews. The cast was simply brilliant: Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Jude Law, Rebecca Hall, and singer Selena Gomez, for example. By the way, Rebecca and Timothée gave up their salaries for this movie, donating the money earned to charity.

IMDb rating: 6.5

3. Ranveer Singh: Finding Fanny

Ranveer Singh is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi films. Singh is among the highest paid Indian actors and, since 2012, has been on the list of the 100 most famous people in India, according to Forbes. In the movie Finding Fanny, the actor had a small cameo role which he played for free. What’s more, he himself came up with the idea of introducing the character he later played into the plot.

IMDb rating: 5.7

4. Brad Pitt: Deadpool 2

In the movie Deadpool 2, Brad Pitt acted for a cup of coffee. It was the actor’s condition: he would appear on screen if Ryan Reynolds brought him coffee. By Reynolds’ own admission later, that request was the most successful option to let everyone know that Pitt was willing to work for free.

IMDb rating: 7.7

5. Mark Wahlberg: The Fighter

The drama The Fighter is based on true events and tells the story of 2 boxer brothers. The film was nominated for an Oscar and won in 2 categories. The public also received the work with great interest. On the Rotten Tomatoes portal, the film’s approval rating is 91%.

The main role was played by Mark Wahlberg, who renounced his professional fees for his work. In addition, Mark himself paid for the services of a nutritionist and a trainer since, for the role, he needed to gain weight and then quickly get in shape during filming. The actor later admitted that he’d acted in many films that he was ashamed of. But The Fighter was the project Mark really wanted to appear in, and he was thrilled with his work.

IMDb rating: 7.8

6, 7 and 8. Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is overshadowed in the memory of its fans by a tragedy. The lead actor, Heath Ledger, passed away during filming. The actor played the protagonist, so the fate of the film was uncertain.

The director decided to continue filming and invited several Hollywood celebrities to simultaneously participate: Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell. All 3 not only acted in the film but also gave up their salaries: the money was donated to a trust for benefitting Heath Ledger’s daughter in the future.

IMDb rating: 6.8

9. Bruce Willis: Four Rooms

Four Rooms is a black comedy film from the 1990s. The cast of this movie is worthy of envy. For example, it featured Tim Roth, Antonio Banderas, Valeria Golino, Madonna, and Bruce Willis. There is a very curious story related to the latter: Bruce wanted to act for free, so he did. But his name was not included in the credits because with this action, the actor violated one of the rules of the American Screen Actors Guild, of which he was a member. The rule required that all film roles be paid for.

IMDb rating: 6.8

10 and 11. Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor: Billu

Priyanka Chopra is one of India’s highest-paid and most popular celebrities. She is a true Bollywood star and the winner of the Miss World 2000 contest. In 2009, the actress starred in the movie Billu. And she did it completely for free, as did Kareena Kapoor. The 2 young women renounced their professional fees and returned the checks they had received, stating that they did not want to receive money for their work.

IMDb rating: 6.3

12. Bruce Willis: Friends

There is a popular legend among fans about Bruce Willis’ gratuitous appearance in Friends. Allegedly, Bruce starred alongside sitcom star Matthew Perry in The Whole Nine Yards and lost a bet to Perry. But, in reality, the actor received a professional fee for appearing in 3 episodes of the series but donated all the money earned to charity.