Doorstop, nutcracker, toilet room conversation piece—some Academy Award winners discover practical alternate uses for their gold-plated trophies. For most, though, not only does Oscar bring loads of peer respect and opportunities for even better roles, the shiny little fellow also adds several more zeros to those paycheques.
Below the fold, a few of the biggest post-Oscar paydays.
Denzel Washington
After picking up the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 1989’s Glory (which earned him a measly $900,000 pay day), Denzel’s asking price jumped to $10 million for Courage Under Fire and Crimson Tide. His 2002 Best Actor win for Training Day ($15 million) propelled him into the prestigious $20 million-per-picture club – of which the star of the upcoming remake of The Taking Of Pelham 123 is still a member.
Hilary Swank
Garnering mailroom wages for 2000’s Boys Don’t Cry ($3,000), her Best Actress win for the film had Tinsel Town producers paying her upwards of $4 million (for The Core). Her second Best Actress win in ‘04 for Million Dollar Baby more than doubled her acting fee for The Reaping. However, Swank often shaves off a couple of million of her normal asking price to get a film she believes in off the ground, like her soon-to-be-released bio-pics Bette Anne Waters and Amelia.
Tom Hanks
With back-to-back Best Actor wins under his belt (for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump), Tom’s pay-or-play price climbed from a mere $5 million plus points* to $25 million, plus back-end points for Cast Away and this spring’s Angels and Demons.
*(Since Forrest Gump was a massive hit, his point participation had producers cutting him another check for $70 million.)
Julia Roberts
Agreeing to work for less than her usual fee ($15 million) to play the lead in 2001’s Erin Brockovich, her Best Actress win garnered her $20 million for The Mexican. With this month’s release of Duplicity, her first major film role in years, it’s reported that disturbing her daily duties as a mother and wife now have producers ponying up $25 million.
The moral of this story: before you head in for your next salary negotiation, see if you can’t win an Oscar first. Even if it doesn’t get you more money, you’ll sure have one nifty bookend.
