Jonah Hill's career in Hollywood has taken some surprising turns. After playing minor roles in several smaller movies, he was first noticed by many in his brief but memorable role in Knocked Up in 2007, and quickly became part of that comedy crew, frequently appearing in various movies starring or written by the likes of
Seth Rogen and James Franco.
His real first big role was in
Superbad later that same year, where he made a name for himself as a relatable (while still absurd) portrayal of being a teenage boy desperate to grow up. From then on his career was only on the up, but he surprised everyone by taking a serious dramatic turn in Moneyball, where he earned an Oscar nomination starring opposite
Brad Pitt.
The meeting point between these two worlds was his role in The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by the legendary Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas). The 2013 movie was a mix of the outright hilarious and the serious, often brutal, reality of a world in which men pushed the boundaries of what was moral in the workplace, eventually going straight over the edge into all-out debauchery.
His portrayal of Donnie Azoff, partner to
Leonardo DiCaprio's Jordan Belfort (based on a real man), was one of the highlights of the film. But the experience was even better for the actor, who spoke on The Howard Stern Show about how he realised one of his bucket list goals.
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"I got to f**king be in a Martin Scorsese movie and I just got nominated for an Oscar," he said of not having any career regrets. "I'm tripping out, Howard . . . I'm in shock. I'm totally in shock."
While it's not exactly a surprise that a mega star like Leonardo DiCaprio pulled in the biggest paycheck on the set of the seven-month shoot, the difference between his and Hill's earnings is quite large. While Jonah Hill's $60,000 is nothing to sniff at, DiCaprio earned a ridiculous $10 million for the role - showing how much actors can get paid on projects like this.
"They gave me the lowest amount of money possible," he told Howard Stern, "It was the minimum, I think SAG (Screen Actors Guild) minimum is something like $60,000 before commissions and taxes."
But he was not interested in disputing the contract, even if there was a chance he could earn a little more.
"That was their offer and I said, 'I will sign the paper tonight. Fax them the papers tonight. I want to sign them tonight before they change their mind. I want to sign them before I go to sleep tonight so they legally can't change their mind'."
"It's not about money for me. None of this S–T is about money. I want to make money to pay my rent, and hopefully have a family one day and have kids and stuff."
"I would sell my house and give him all my money to work for him [Martin Scorsese]."
"I would have done anything in the world. I would do it again in a second."
You can understand where he's coming from. Working with one of the most talented people in your industry is one thing, but being paid $10 million for your trouble? That seems like a pretty good deal to me.
