Megastars like Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, George Clooney, and more, get paid in the millions. Even though they are often the face of the films, there’s a lot of work done behind the scenes by crew members, writers, stunt doubles, and more. However, these hardworking people are not compensated as well as one hopes for.
But till now general audiences thought that at least the difference between the pay of an actor and his double wouldn’t be too much. But they were proven wrong when eyebrow-raising pay disparity reports from the set of Brad Pitt’s $540 million earning action thriller were released.
Brad Pitt’s Double On More Than $500 Million Grossing Film Was Paid A Paltry Sum
A report by The Mirror revealed that for World War Z (2013), Brad Pitt took home £9 million while his stunt double, David Paterson, made just £4.44 an hour. So for an 18-hour workday, he took home just £80. Paterson said:
“I basically had to be Brad for the day and copy everything he did on screen… Brad was there the entire time, and they were filming over the course of months, so it must have been quite tough… I was paid £80 but it wasn’t anything to do with the money. I’m not too fussed about that. I did it for the experience.”
One has to wonder if the double got any perks like attending the premiere or even a VIP pass for the film he worked on. But Paterson revealed that he wasn’t given any perks at all even though all day he had to basically tag along with Brad Pitt and follow his actions and directions.
Brad Pitt’s Double For World War Z Spills The Beans On The Maker’s Treatment Of Him
It’s not unheard of for crew members to get special passes or VIP tickets for the film they are working on. In fact, it’s almost expected as a courtesy. After all, it takes a village to make a tentpole film. But nothing like that happened to Brad Pitt’s double David Paterson. He said:
“You get asked to do something like that and you can’t really say no… I didn’t get a VIP pass for the film, nothing like that at all, and I haven’t seen it yet. I walked away with around £80, no autograph and no VIP invites.”
One might think he didn’t contribute to the film as much and as a result, he was left out. Paterson described his work as basically being Brad Pitt and doing what he said. He said:
“Brad and I ran through a supermarket putting tins and jars into the trolley, acting out different scenes, and I was following his actions. I wore identical clothes to him, jeans, a blue jacket and T-shirt. I had the same physique as him, both slim built, although not so much anymore as I’ve put on weight since then.”
However, it looks like Paterson isn’t holding on to any grudges. As for Pitt, he has never addressed these allegations and it doesn’t look like he will in the future as well since it has almost been a decade since the film was released.
World War Z is streaming on Netflix.
Source: The Mirror
