When we think of actor’s salaries, we tend to be shocked by the sheer amount of earning power they have.
The mythology of the millionaire stars of stage and screen is one that’s pervaded our culture.
But it turns out, this isn’t always the case.
The story of one actor who was dramatically underpaid for his role in a $90 million movie has left the internet feeling baffled!
One person pens: “I loved watching this. Credit to the actors but especially the screenwriter. I couldn’t stop laughing. one of the funniest movies ever made.”
A second adds: “I’m glad he learned how to negotiate for what he needed and wanted for the second movie. That was unfair for the movie industry to pay him so little for the work he did. It does make me wonder what the rest of the cast was paid.”
“True reflection of the wealthy too busy being greedy. Not caring will bring upon one’s demise, unfortunately,” a third agrees.
The late N!xau ǂToma received a measly $300 upfront payment for his role in the indie movie The Gods Must Be Crazy.
Directed by Jamie Uys, the comedy was the first in a series, which features two official films and three unofficial spin-offs.
The original movie went on to gross $90 million worldwide, but N!xau ǂToma didn’t receive his fair share of it – in spite of being the star of the show in the first film.
The original film’s official synopsis reads: “A comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries.”
N!xau ǂToma was on screen for the vast majority of the film’s 100+ minute runtime, but he didn’t get paid accordingly.
The actor was a Namibian bush farmer who also happened to star in movies.
By far his most famous role was in The Gods Must Be Crazy – and he’s been called Namibia’s most famous actor.
But after his roles in The Gods Must Be Crazy franchise, N!xau ǂToma went right back to farming maize, pumpkins, and beans.
While the fee offered to him was fairly low, it seems as though money was not a priority for the farmer and actor.
As per the Telegraph: “Jamie Uys told an interviewer that, when he handed N!xau his first $300 for starting work on the first film, the actor had held up the notes in the palm of his hand to let them be whisked away in the desert wind.”
The movie soon became the highest-grossing film of that year in Japan, and later became the highest-grossing foreign film in the US in 1984 following a re-release.
Eventually, N!xau expanded his wealth a little, purchasing a ‘few more head of cattle, built a brick house, and bought a second-hand car, for which he had to employ a chauffeur, as he had no wish to learn to drive.’
He also reportedly negotiated a higher paycheck for his roles in the follow-up films but remained largely uninterested in earning major money.
Sadly, N!xau was found dead near his home in June 2003 after he had headed out to collect wood.
He had never recorded his own date of birth, but was believed to be in his late fifties at the time of his death.