Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
03-03-14, 10:14 AM
#1
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Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
Hopefully he gets another role or two.
http://rollingout.com/entertainment/...nominee-broke/
Barkhad Abdi was in the running for Oscar gold Sunday, but according to reports, the Somali-born actor is completely broke.
Abdi delivered a riveting performance in his role in Captain Phillips as the desperate pirate Muse. Abdi ad-libbed the film’s signature line: “I’m the captain now.” But the New Yorker reveals that he is now struggling to make ends meet.
“When Abdi is in Los Angeles to promote the film, he subsists on a per diem, good at the Beverly Hilton, where the studio likes to put him up. The town car is available only for official publicity events and his clothes are loaners,” reads the article. “Recently Abdi requested that he be allowed to stay at a commuter hotel near LAX to be closer to his friend, a Somali cab driver from Minneapolis, who shuttles him around for free.”
Abdi earned $65,000 for his performance in the $55 million Tom Hanks-driven film, but that was more than two years ago. And even with an Oscar nomination, there’s no guarantee of his future earning potential as an actor. Abdi already won a BAFTA for best supporting actor, and is now reading scripts for his next role.
Hopefully it pays much more than $65,000.
Abdi delivered a riveting performance in his role in Captain Phillips as the desperate pirate Muse. Abdi ad-libbed the film’s signature line: “I’m the captain now.” But the New Yorker reveals that he is now struggling to make ends meet.
“When Abdi is in Los Angeles to promote the film, he subsists on a per diem, good at the Beverly Hilton, where the studio likes to put him up. The town car is available only for official publicity events and his clothes are loaners,” reads the article. “Recently Abdi requested that he be allowed to stay at a commuter hotel near LAX to be closer to his friend, a Somali cab driver from Minneapolis, who shuttles him around for free.”
Abdi earned $65,000 for his performance in the $55 million Tom Hanks-driven film, but that was more than two years ago. And even with an Oscar nomination, there’s no guarantee of his future earning potential as an actor. Abdi already won a BAFTA for best supporting actor, and is now reading scripts for his next role.
Hopefully it pays much more than $65,000.
03-03-14, 10:24 AM
#3
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
$65K for such a large part in the film? That guy needs a better manager.
03-03-14, 10:33 AM
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Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
Visually speaking he doesn't come off as someone that would be cast in a regular film. I bet some directors want to work with him though.
03-03-14, 10:48 AM
#7
Moderator
Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
Yeah, I don't seem him landing a lot of big roles in Hollywood films, but maybe there's a way for him to leverage the fame and attention for something else?
03-03-14, 11:05 AM
#8
Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
He can expand his horizons by going here 
<iframe width="504" height="378" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HoqmCwp95Q8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="504" height="378" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HoqmCwp95Q8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
03-03-14, 11:55 AM
#10
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
I like forward to many years of seeing his wide variety of roles such as Cab Driver #3 and Background Somali with a machine gun.
03-03-14, 12:07 PM
#14
Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
You'd think with an Oscar nomination the studio wouldn't blink an eye at cutting the guy a bonus check for a million bucks. 500k atleast...
03-03-14, 12:09 PM
#15
Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
BFD, over half the active actors/actresses are broke. He shouldn't have quit his job.
Learn to wait tables/bartender like all the others.
Why? He was paid, they don't "owe" him shit.
I don't get why this guy matters and all the other "broke" actors don't matter. Oh...because he was nominated? Not the first broke actor or the last to get nominated.
Learn to wait tables/bartender like all the others.
I don't get why this guy matters and all the other "broke" actors don't matter. Oh...because he was nominated? Not the first broke actor or the last to get nominated.
Last edited by d2cheer; 03-03-14 at 12:14 PM.
03-03-14, 12:11 PM
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Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
He either needs to get those teeth fixed or his hairline fixed, Abdi got a bigger forehead than Peyton Manning.
Abdi could play an AIDS-ravaged Omar Little in an alternate reality-version of The Wire.
Abdi could play an AIDS-ravaged Omar Little in an alternate reality-version of The Wire.
03-03-14, 12:16 PM
#17
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
He should have fattened himself up so that when he showed up pudgy at the Oscars, people may have thought he was willing to pull a Christian Bale for the role.
03-03-14, 12:40 PM
#18
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
BFD, over half the active actors/actresses are broke. He shouldn't have quit his job.
Learn to wait tables/bartender like all the others.
Why? He was paid, they don't "owe" him shit.
I don't get why this guy matters and all the other "broke" actors don't matter. Oh...because he was nominated? Not the first broke actor or the last to get nominated.
Learn to wait tables/bartender like all the others.
Why? He was paid, they don't "owe" him shit.
I don't get why this guy matters and all the other "broke" actors don't matter. Oh...because he was nominated? Not the first broke actor or the last to get nominated.
03-03-14, 12:48 PM
#19
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
Some actors have a clause in their contract that calls for an additional sum of money in the event of awards nomination, and sometimes another bump in the event of a win.
I guess he had no such clause?
I guess he had no such clause?
03-03-14, 01:00 PM
#21
Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
Too bad they didn't wait a couple more year for the Total Recall remake, would have been the perfect Benny the cab driver.
03-03-14, 01:05 PM
#23
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
Abdi made a splash with his first (and only) acting gig, but his appearance and diction really places him in a very specific pigeon hole. To be honest, he might have had more long-term success had he been one of the other pirates in that movie, because he would've avoided recognition and possible typecasting. There are a LOT of broke/poor actors - it's not a great field to work in - and he needs to be able to portray a much broader range of characters to have a chance of success. As it is, he might make more money being an actual Somali pirate than as an actor. Time to consider going back to Minneapolis and looking into whether he can get his old job back at his brothers' cell phone store.
03-03-14, 01:06 PM
#24
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
He'll be fine. He was just nominated for an Oscar and received a lot of critical acclaim for his performance, he'll find another job very soon.
03-03-14, 01:12 PM
#25
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi says he's broke
I thought the final scene with the Navy nurse reassuring Captain Phillips that he was safe was very emotional. She wasn't an actress. She was a real Navy nurse.