We tend to think of movie stars as being not just famous but extremely rich. However, the sad truth is that many hard-working actors in the highest-grossing films aren’t actually banking it at all. For example, the first “American Pie” movie made more than $235.5 million at the box office worldwide following its release in 1999. You would think that would set its stars up for a long while, but you’d be wrong. In fact, Seann William Scott, who played Stifler, revealed that he only made $8,000 for his “American Pie” role and had to take up a side job to make ends meet.
- Everyone loved Stifler, man! Even 24 years after its release, “American Pie” remains a raunchy comedy classic, and Stifler one of the most memorable characters in the genre. Of course, the powers that be couldn’t have known that when filming the $11 million movie, but still. Paying an actor $8,000 for a role is a bit stingy, don’t you think?
- Seann William Scott was broke after “American Pie.” He told TV host Rick Elsen that the $8,000 he received didn’t go very far and it wasn’t long before he was working at the LA Zoo selling churros to pay his bills (via Deadline).
- So, what did he spend the money on? Scott wasn’t actually complaining about the paltry sum he received. In fact, he said that “it was a lot of money for me at the time” and revealed that he spent the cash on a used Thunderbird. That’s a good purchase!
- Thankfully, his struggling actor days didn’t last too long. While Universal Pictures didn’t shell out much for “American Pie,” the public’s love of Stifler did earn Seann William Scott the opportunity to grab other leading roles in the likes of “Dude Where’s My Car” and “Road Trip.”
- He later reprised his role as Stifler in further “American Pie” movies. Thankfully, his most recent paycheck for “American Reunion” was a whole lot bigger — $5 million. That’s a pretty dramatic increase, and much higher than some of his co-stars received. According to The Hollywood Reporter, most of the other actors in the movie (besides Jason Biggs, Eugene Levy, and Alyson Hannigan) earned $250k or less.
- There. may be a fifth “American Pie” movie for its upcoming 25th anniversary. It’s unclear exactly what the plot would be and how many of the originals would come back, but I’m sure Scott would if the price was right!
