Oscar Nominee Barkhad Abdi Is Reportedly Broke, Only Received $65,000 For His Work In Captain Phillips
Barkhad Abdi was all smiles at the Oscars last Sunday night. One might assume that the Oscar nominee is now swimming in money after the success of Captain Phillips, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth.
A new report from the New Yorker claims the breakout star is now broke. He did receive $65,000 for his brilliant work in the movie, but that paycheck came two years ago. He’s already spent the $65,000 and now he’s out of money completely. After he worked on the movie, he did go to work at a mobile phone store in Minnesota, but he moved to L.A. when the movie premiered.
Even though the movie has been wildly successful, Barkhad has not received any bonuses. The film had a budget of $55 million, and has already made over $200 million worldwide. And while most people agree $65,000 is a fair amount of money for a first time actor, they also admit he should have been given a bonus.
[more…]When you factor in the success of the movie and the fact he was nominated for an Oscar, it just doesn’t feel right to learn he’s only made $65,000 for his work in the film.
A writer for Indie Wire stated that this article from the New Yorker could be the best thing that’s ever happened to Barkhad…
“Sometimes, when a studio is embarrassed by negative PR like this … it tries to correct things. So it’s very possible that Sony Pictures will give Abdi a huge financial bonus in reaction to the New Yorker article, which would be fair and very well deserved.”
We’ll see if they decide to do the right thing or not. Even if they continue to be greedy, Abdi will be okay in the long run. The 28-year-old star was recently cast in a movie called, “The Place That Hits The Sun” which is about a South African Marathon runner who develops a strange friendship with a local bar owner.
