Imagine getting a salary of $95 million for just a few days of work in a film, i.e. only 20 minutes of screen time. Most actors would put in a lot of effort for a gig like this. But about 50 years ago, when one man got it, he was so repulsed by the film that he almost rejected the sequel and only came back to the director. It’s the story of an artist who became a reluctant pop culture icon.
The actor who earned $95 million for a 20-minute role
By the mid-1970s, British actor Alec Guinness was a respected name in Hollywood and the UK. He made his name in acclaimed films like Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Man in the White Suit, The Lavender Hill Mob and Great Expectations. He won a Best Actor Oscar for Bridge on the River Kwai and later appeared in Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago. Years later, George Lucas approached him to play a Merlin-like master in a space opera he was creating. He was offered $150,000 for the role, but the actor demanded double the amount with 2% of backend earnings. Director George Lucas contributed another .25% as a goodwill gesture.
The movie was Star Wars and the role was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Even though the character only appeared for 20 minutes in the film, it became a pop culture phenomenon, ultimately becoming the role for which the Oscar winner would be best known. The profit-sharing agreement proved to be a game changer for Guinness, as the franchise earned several billion dollars over the next five decades, earning Guinness an astonishing $95 million by the time of his death in 2000.
Why did Alec Guinness not like Star Wars at first?
according to hollywood reporterWhen Alec Guinness first read the script he was not sold on Star Wars and only agreed to do the film because of the money. Privately, he dismissed the script among friends as “fairy tale nonsense”, and was convinced that he did not want to return to the character again. He later wrote in his diary that working on the film was ‘dull nonsense’.
However, once the film became successful, the actor felt he owed it to George Lucas to return and allow him to complete his role. A week after agreeing to star in The Empire, Guinness wrote, “I said yes to a day’s work on Star Wars II… It’s a dull bullshit thing, but I owe it to George Lucas , Looking at him, I finally didn’t have the heart to refuse.” Strikes Back in 1979. His character Obi-Wan was killed in the film. It was later revived in the prequel trilogy and played by Ewan McGregor. Obi-Wan eventually starred in his own web series called Kenobi, which premiered on Disney+ this year, with Ewan McGregor returning to the role. The funny thing is that Alec Guinness earned more for his 20-minute appearance in two films than McGregor made in three films and one series.
