Entertainment

Barkhad Abdi Made $65K for 'Captain Philips': How Do This Year's Best Supporting Actor Nominees Compare?

He recently won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor, and Barkhad Abdi also recently revealed that he is broke. The Somali-American actor worked as a limousine driver, store clerk, and disc jokey before landing the role of Abduwali Muse on Captain Phillips. He made $65,000 for his performance in the film, but has not acted since then. For the last two years, he has been subsisting on a film salary that is approximately one twentieth of what Charlie Sheen made for every episode on "Two and a Half Men." Visiting Abdi's Wikipedia page is an exercise in tragicomedy, as he has twenty-nine award nominations for his only role thus far.

So, what did other Best Supporting Actor nominees make? How little were they willing to take for their supporting roles and a shot at an Oscar? Abdi is, surprisingly, not the lowest-paid actor in the group. This was his first Hollywood role, one capable of launching him to subsequent success, so the lower salary is part of getting a foot in door. Nonetheless, one hopes that Abdi finds work soon. The cost of living in Los Angeles for one year is greater than his salary for Captain Phillips , so he's reaching sink-or-swim territory. Let's take a look at the other nominees and their approximate salaries, as potential models for Abdi's future work and income.

by Sarah Freymiller

Jonah Hill

Role: Donnie Azoff in The Wolf of Wall Street

Salary: $60,000

Hill told Howard Stern, ”I would sell my house and give [Martin Scorsese] all my money to work for him.” While he didn’t reach that extreme, Hill did accept the minimum possible salary under Screen Actors Guild regulations. It was like taking candy from a baby-faced actor.

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Michael Fassbender

Role: Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave

Salary: More than Jonah Hill’s. While Fassbender has given out some shady financial advice in the past, his net worth is approximately $30 million. He will not be starving anytime soon, unless it’s to reprise his infamous role as hunger striker Bobby Sands.

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Jared Leto

Role: Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club

Salary: Unconfirmed, but probably greater than $1 million. Leto just topped People With Money ’s list of ten highest-paid actors for 2014, raking in $46 million. The man will not be working as a store clerk any time soon, unless it’s part of his preparation for a role.

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Bradley Cooper

Role: Richie DiMaso in American Hustle

Salary: Does it matter?

When you make $15 million for The Hangover 3, you can do pretty much whatever you want. Cooper has an estimated net worth of $30 million on celebritynetworth.com, a site that, tragically, does exist.

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