If you think Harrison Ford's salary in Star Wars: The Force Awakens was ridiculous, Sir Alec Guinness may have something to say about it.
The late thespian, who first played Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope, reportedly earned over $95 million for what is essentially a 20 minute-long overall screentime.
His agent managed to draw up what ended up being an insanely lucrative deal that would get Guinness 2% of all gross royalties that George Lucas would make. It was a gift that kept on giving even after the passing of the actor in 2000 because his estate continued to make money off of royalty checks, licensing, and merchandise sales.
His earnings for that brief Star Wars stint were more than what he made in all his previous movies. It would totally dwarf Robert Downey Jr.'s Marvel paycheck today. This deal, in addition to being exempted to do any publicity for the film, definitely helped him warm up to the project, which he didn't really want to be a part of.
Guinness has starred in almost 50 films by the time he accepted the role. He was a renowned, in-demand thespian by then. In fact, he was deemed one of the highest paid actors at the time.
Even crazier, the amount is supposed to be much higher because he and Lucas both agreed on a 0.5% increase. Guinness revealed in an interview that Lucas was feeling good about the release of Star Wars, so he said he would be willing to award him the raise to thank him for the suggestions he made for the script that improved the movie. However, this deal never panned out as no official changes in the contract to reflect this was made.
Guinness didn't like the fame that came with his association with Star Wars. In fact, he wasn't even a fan of the franchise, to begin with.
He admitted that he persuaded Lucas to kill off his character by saying it would make Obi-Wan a stronger character for it. The truth is, as he would later reveal, that he simply couldn't bear reciting any more of the "bloody awful, banal lines."
Also Read: Rare Photo of Darth Vader Without Cape Unlocks Cool Star Wars Secrets
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!
Star Wars