Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese never disappointed fans whenever they teamed up for a movie. In their fifth collaborative project, The Wolf of Wall Street, DiCaprio took on the role of Jordan Belfort, the infamous New York City stockbroker and co-founder of Stratton Oakmont. The film was based on Belfort’s memoir and explores his involvement in corruption and fraud, which led to his ultimate downfall.
The Revenant actor was nominated for an Oscar for his performance and was paid a hefty sum of $10 million for his role. Sadly, the other Oscar-nominated performance in the film was compensated with a mere sum of $60,000.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Co-Star Was Underpaid For The Wolf of Wall Street
While Leonardo DiCaprio was at his performing best, the other greatly executed role in the movie was that of Jonah Hill. Hill played Donnie Azoff, a character the Superbad actor hated, who was the friend and business partner of Belfort. Hill received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the role but lost to Jared Leto.
Hill was only paid in breadcrumbs for the role when compared to DiCaprio. The 21 Jump Street actor was okay with his paycheck for the film, stating that he immediately agreed to the low-paying offer without second thoughts. During an appearance on The Howard Stern Show, the Don’t Look Up actor shared:
“They gave me the lowest amount of money possible. That was their offer and I said, ‘I will sign the paper tonight. Fax ’em the papers tonight’. I want to sign them tonight before they change their mind. I wanna sign them before I go to sleep tonight so they legally can’t change their mind.”
The $60,000 Hill received was the minimum wage in Hollywood as per rules set by the Screen Actors Guild. The War Dogs actor’s reason for working at such a rate was the opportunity to work with the legendary director, Martin Scorsese.
Jonah Hill Was Ready To Sell His House To Act In A Martin Scorsese Film
Jonah Hill was already an established name in Hollywood with roles in Superbad and Moneyball when The Wolf of Wall Street role came to him. The You People actor could have easily negotiated for much higher pay, however, Hill settled for the minimum wage. Hill revealed the reason for this was his desire to act in a Martin Scorsese film. The Cyrus actor told Howard Stern:
“I would sell my house and give him all my money to work for him [Scorsese]. This isn’t what you make money for. You do 22 Jump Street or you do other things, and you can pay your rent. I would’ve done anything in the world. I would do it again in a second… This s**t isn’t about money. You should do things that you care about.”
Jonah Hill’s decision paid off as he established a working relationship with the legendary director. Hill is set to play Jerry Garcia, the singer and frontrunner of the band Grateful Dead, in a biopic directed by Scorsese. He also appeared alongside The Departed director in a commercial for Coca-Cola.
The Wolf of Wall Street was a major commercial hit grossing $406.9 million at the box office. The Leonardo DiCaprio movie is now available for streaming on Prime Video.
Source: The Howard Stern Show (via X)
