The 2006 movie, The Departed starred some big-name actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Mark Wahlberg. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the movie follows a mole and an undercover police officer trying to figure out each other’s identities while trying to infiltrate an Irish gang in the South of Boston.
The movie did exceptionally well, grossing $291 million worldwide on a budget of $90 million. The movie went on to be nominated for five Oscars, of which it ended up winning four, including Best Motion Picture of the Year. With this much success for the movie, what sort of expense took up half of the movie’s budget?
What Expense Used Up Half Of The Departed’s Budget?
The Departed did not have a massive budget to begin with, compared to the film industry and the kind of expenditure some projects have. The production team also chose to hire three very famous, successful, and Oscar-nominated and winning actors, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Mark Wahlberg. The cast also included Jack Nicholson and Alec Baldwin.
It is only natural that these actors will require high salaries. On a budget of $90 million, DeCaprio was paid the most, his salary at a whopping $20 million, followed by Nicholson and Damon, each making $10 million each and finally Wahlberg, who made $5 million for his role. The does not even include the rest of the cast, meaning that half of this movie’s budget was used to pay the actors’ salaries.
Why Did The Highest Paid Actor in The Departed Not Receive An Oscar Nomination?
Even though Leonardo DiCaprio was the highest-paid actor in the cast of The Departed, he did not receive an Oscar nomination for his role in the movie. What could be the reason for this? It would seem that Warner Bros. did not want to favor DiCaprio over the rest of his castmates and place him in a leading role, something that ultimately got him his nomination in Blood Diamond.
It would seem that DeCaprio agreed with this as he refused to campaign against his co-stars in the category of best supporting actor, an award that Mark Wahlberg was nominated for. Due to this, Warner Bros did not put out any supporting actor ads for the Titanic actor and he did not receive a nomination.
Source: IMDb
