7 Stars Who Earned Almost Nothing from Their Blockbuster Movies
7 Stars Who Earned Almost Nothing from Their Blockbuster Movies
Christopher RudolphSat, November 7, 2026 at 11:30 AM UTC
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Harrison Ford in ‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back’ (1979); Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘Halloween’ 1978Credit: Mark Sennet/Getty; Compass International Pictures/Getty
Characters like Star Wars’ Darth Vader or Halloween’s Laurie Strode remain iconic decades after the films featuring them were released.
Yet for the actors who brought them to life, some of their most memorable roles didn’t come with a big paycheck.
In the ’70s, Harrison Ford and Jamie Lee Curtis were among the actors who earned less than $10,000 for their on-screen work.
Still, their modest earnings would ultimately give way to industry recognition and greater career opportunities.
Here are seven actors who earned almost nothing while starring in their blockbuster movies.
01 of 07
Harrison Ford on Star Wars
Harrison Ford in ‘Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back’ (1980)Credit: Lucasfilm/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty
Throughout his Hollywood career, Ford has played legendary cinema characters. When Star Wars premiered in 1977, he starred as Han Solo, a role he landed after serving as a scene partner for other actors auditioning for the sci-fi epic.
“A producer friend of mine that produced American Graffiti somehow connived to get me to read the lines with people that were auditioning for the parts of Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker,” Ford said during a December 2015 interview on Good Morning America. “I thought I was just helping out.”
“When the whole thing was over they asked if I wanted to play Han Solo,” he recalled. “I said, ‘How much?’ And then they said $1,000 a week. And I said, ‘No,’ but I did.”
“I did it for $1,000 a week. For the first one,” Ford added.
His pay to play the character would increase over the years, with Variety reporting that when he returned to reprise the role in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he was paid between $10 million and $20 million.
02 of 07
James Earl Jones on Star Wars
James Earl Jones stands next to a Darth Vader costume on May 12, 2002 in New York CityCredit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
James Earl Jones voiced the menacing Darth Vader in 1977’s Star Wars, a character he would continue to portray for decades after, in sequels, TV shows and other projects.
In a July 2009 interview with the American Film Institute, Jones discussed how director George Lucas hired him despite his lifelong stutter, which had improved over time.
“I lucked out to get a job that paid me $7,000! And I thought that was good money. And I got to be a voice on a movie,” he said. “It was great fun to be a part of that.”
Jones went uncredited for his work on Star Wars — later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope — and The Empire Strikes Back, but his name appears in the credits for Return of the Jedi in 1983.
03 of 07
Jamie Lee Curtis on Halloween
Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘Halloween’ (1978)Credit: Compass International Pictures/Getty
Curtis made her film debut in 1978’s Halloween, playing Laurie Strode, one of the most famous final girls in the slasher genre.
“I made $8,000,” Curtis told PEOPLE in October 2018, reflecting on the production of the low-budget feature. “I made $2,000 a week, which at the time was a fortune.”
She was even tasked with buying her character’s wardrobe herself. “All the sudden, I was going to JC Penney and buying Laurie’s wardrobe with $200,” she said.
Curtis has reprised the role of Laurie multiple times since the original Halloween, including 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, and the recent Halloween trilogy directed by David Gordon Green.
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04 of 07
Seann William Scott on American Pie
Seann William Scott in ‘American Pie’ (1999)Credit: Vivian Zink/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock
Seann William Scott’s breakout role was playing Stifler in 1999’s raunchy teen comedy, American Pie.
The hit movie would go on to make $235 million worldwide, but Scott was allegedly only paid about $8,000 for his part.
“I remember afterwards I bought a used Thunderbird for like five grand, maybe six,” the actor said during a March 2022 interview on The Rich Eisen Show. “I was like, ‘Oh yeah, baby!’ “
“I don’t know what happened to the other two grand, because then I ended up having to work at the L.A. [Los Angeles] Zoo as a churro guy,” Scott revealed. “So maybe it was even less than $8,000.”
05 of 07
Ethan Hawke on The Purge
Ethan Hawke in ‘The Purge’ (2013)Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock
The Purge ranks among the most successful horror film series of recent years, and for the first installment, released in 2013, star Ethan Hawke worked for SAG minimum in exchange for a piece of the profits.
“There were no perks,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in June 2013. “No trailer, no driver, no BS, just a great role, a great director.”
“Hell, on The Purge, I slept on his couch the whole shoot,” Hawke added, referring to producer Jason Blum.
According to TheWrap, The Purge made $82 million worldwide on a budget of $3 million.
06 of 07
Ryan Reynolds on Deadpool
Ryan Reynolds in ‘Deadpool’ (2016)Credit: Joe Lederer/Marvel
Ryan Reynolds had been working for 10 years to get Deadpool to the screen by the time the movie was finally being made.
“No part of me was thinking when Deadpool was finally greenlit that this would be a success. I even let go of getting paid to do the movie just to put it back on the screen,” he told The New York Times in July 2024.
The actor continued, “They wouldn’t allow my co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on set, so I took the little salary I had left and paid them to be on set with me so we could form a de facto writers room.”
Reynolds added that the movie’s limited budget and timeline “really fostered focusing on character over spectacle, which is a little harder to execute in a comic-book movie.”
In the end, Deadpool was made on a $58 million budget and grossed $782.8 million worldwide in 2016.
07 of 07
Jennifer Lopez on Hustlers
Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu in ‘Hustlers’ (2019)Credit: STXfilms
Jennifer Lopez reportedly didn’t earn a big paycheck for her role as Ramona in Hustlers.
“I didn’t get paid a whole bunch of money for Hustlers,” she told GQ in November 2019. “I did it for free and produced it. Like Jenny From the Block — I do what I love.”
The actress didn’t take home a large sum while making the crime dramedy, but she did receive critical acclaim upon the film’s release, earning nominations for a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and more.
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