From Beyonce to Anna Kendrick, these stars put apart their finest curiosity and used their movie earnings for the nice of others.
It’s no secret that A-list actors can rack in thousands and thousands for his or her main roles on the massive display screen — nevertheless it doesn’t at all times go straight to their checking account. In actual fact, some stars resolve to donate their whole wage to an excellent trigger as an alternative of holding a single cent. Whereas celebs are sometimes non-public about their charitable contributions, stars like Anna Kendrick and Beyoncé have opened up about their resolution to donate their earnings within the hopes of elevating consciousness for causes near their hearts.
Discover out why these actors gave up their wage…
Beyoncé
In 2008, Beyoncé was paid $4 million to star in Cadillac Data as a younger Etta James — however she reportedly didn’t preserve any of her wage. Beyoncé donated everything of her wage to the Phoenix Home, a drug therapy heart that helps over 5,000 recovering addicts daily. Whereas getting ready for the function, Bey had hung out at one in all their rehab amenities to be taught extra about Etta, who had stayed at an identical heart to deal with her heroin habit within the Nineteen Seventies.
Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles, later shared that a part of her daughter’s donation was put in the direction of opening a cosmetology college for folks from Phoenix Home who wished to be taught a life ability that would assist them get again on their toes.
“My mom and I imagine that anybody can succeed with just a little assist,” Beyoncé shared. “The middle may also help these men and women to realize their targets, to be impartial, self-fulfilled, and in the end assist in their restoration course of.”
Brendan Fraser & James Earl Jones
After filming his 2013 film Gimme Shelter, Brendan Fraser reportedly donated his whole wage to A number of Sources Shelters — and his co-star, James Earl Jones, did the identical. The movie was primarily based on a real-life pregnant teenager who had lived at one of many shelters. Director Ron Krauss says he was shocked that Brendan and James even wished to be within the movie.
“I used to be bowled over as a result of he was an enormous actor, and I didn’t actually anticipate to have massive actors on this film,” he instructed Nationwide Overview. “It actually had an genuine solid, whose motivation was not about cash, however about getting an genuine message out.”
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Anna Kendrick
In 2023, Anna Kendrick was simply weeks away from the premiere of her movie Girl of the Hour when she realized that she didn’t wish to preserve any cash created from the film. The movie, primarily based on the lifetime of serial killer Rodney Alcaca, chronicled his quite a few murders in addition to the second throughout his killing spree when he infamously appeared on The Relationship Recreation. Anna determined she felt “gross” holding the cash and determined to donate it to RAINN and to the Nationwide Middle for Victims of Violent Crime.
“This was by no means a money-making enterprise for me. Finally, Netflix purchased the film. Nevertheless it wasn’t till, like, the week earlier than Toronto Worldwide Movie Competition that I assumed, ‘Oh, the film’s gonna earn cash,’” Anna shared on the Crime Junkie AF podcast. “I requested myself the query of, ‘Do you’re feeling gross about this?’ And I did.”
Timothée Chalamet
After engaged on A Wet Day in New York, Timothée Chalamet and his co-stars needed to rethink their resolution to work with director Woody Allen, who was dealing with abuse allegations on the time. Whereas Timothée couldn’t share his precise ideas on the matter due to contractual obligations, Timothée ended up deciding that he didn’t wish to revenue from the movie. He donated his wage to TIME’S UP, The LGBT Middle in New York, and RAINN.
“This 12 months has modified the way in which I see and really feel about so many issues; it has been an exhilarating and, at occasions, enlightening training. I’ve, thus far, chosen tasks from the attitude of a younger actor making an attempt to stroll within the footsteps of extra seasoned actors I like,” Timothée wrote on Instagram. “However I’m studying {that a} good function is not the one standards for accepting a job – that has develop into a lot clearer to me up to now few months, having witnessed the delivery of a strong motion intent on ending injustice, inequality and above all, silence.”
He continued, “I wish to be worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with courageous artists who’re preventing for all folks to be handled with the respect and dignity they deserve.”

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Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp & Jude Legislation
Heath Ledger was in the course of filming The Imaginarium of Physician Parnassus when he died of an unintentional overdose. Because the film was solely midway full, the group behind the movie scrambled to determine what to do. Ultimately, Heath’s pals Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp and Jude Legislation all stood in for Heath — and donated all the cash to his daughter Matilda.
“They got here; they did the work; they allowed the film to be completed; they didn’t take cash — the cash goes to Heath’s daughter. That’s extraordinary! And fantastic…and once you’re a part of that, you suppose, ‘Ah, that is perhaps why I went into the films, to start with. I assumed it could be stuffed with fantastic folks.’ And in our case, we’ve acquired a film stuffed with fantastic folks, who did extraordinary issues to assist,” director Terry Gilliam shared.
Michael Sheen
In 2021, Michael Sheen shared that he had not too long ago determined to develop into a “not-for-profit” actor and wished to donate any of his additional earnings to fund social tasks. He made the selection after donating a big sum of money to fund the Homeless World Cup — and realized it was one thing he may very well be doing on a regular basis.
“I’ve basically turned myself right into a social enterprise, a not-for-profit actor…I’ve realized in the previous couple of years that I wish to be a type of individuals who assist different folks the way in which so many individuals helped me. I don’t wish to simply be somebody who enjoys the fruits of what different folks have performed after which pull the drawbridge up,” Michael mentioned in an interview with Huge Difficulty.

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Al Pacino
Al Pacino’s 1980 movie Cruising, which was a few serial killer who focused homosexual males in Manhattan, confronted a variety of backlash from the LGBTQ+ neighborhood when it was launched. On the time, he allegedly acquired loss of life threats, nevertheless it wasn’t till after filming wrapped that he realized that it was “an exploitative movie.” He mentioned he ended up quietly donating his wage to charities.
“After I mentioned sure to it, I assumed it was going to be a murder-mystery thriller with some edge to it, I used to be not as delicate as I might have been in regards to the stigmatization of the homosexual neighborhood and the way this materials depicted them,” Al wrote in Sonny Boy: A Memoir.
He continued, “I took the cash and it was so much, and I put it in an irrevocable belief fund, which means as soon as I gave it, there was no taking it again. I gave it to charities, and with the curiosity, it was capable of final a few a long time…It was at all times donated anonymously as a result of I did not wish to make it a PR stunt — I simply wished one constructive factor to come back out of that complete expertise.”