"American Pie" star Seann William Scott has opened up about the meager amount he was paid for his appearance in the 1999 hit comedy.
Speaking with TV chat show host Rick Elsen, the actor revealed that he earned $8,000 for his work on the movie, which raked in over $235 million at the box office, according to Deadline. Scott added that, at the time, it was "a lot of money" for him.
"I remember afterwards I bought a used Thunderbird for like $5000 or maybe $6000, I'm like, 'Oh yeah, baby,'" he said. "I don't know what happened to the other $2000 because I ended up having to work at the LA Zoo as a churro guy, so maybe it was even less than $8000."
Scott portrayed Steve Stifler, also known as Stifmeister, in the successful teen comedy franchise. He stayed with the series, and in the 2012 film "American Reunion" reportedly earned $5 million for his role.
Scott has become the latest actor to raise his voice against the disproportionate remuneration actors receive for their work.
Earlier this month Mandy Moore shared that she received paychecks for less than $1 for her role in "This Is Us" after it went to a streaming platform. The actor made the revelation while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter about her concerns over the issue of residuals, which is the amount actors are paid whenever their films or TV shows are replayed.
"The residual issue is a huge issue," Moore explained. "We're in incredibly fortunate positions as working actors having been on shows that found tremendous success in one way or another … but many actors in our position for years before us were able to live off of residuals or at least pay their bills."
Moore explained that when it came to her work on the successful NBC series, in which she starred as the matriarch for six seasons, she received "very tiny, like 81-cent checks" for the show's streaming deal with Hulu.
"I was talking with my business manager, who said he's received a residual for a penny and two pennies," she added.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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