To become a top-tier actor, you have to be very dedicated and willing to make significant sacrifices along the way. It’s not only about having good acting abilities; it’s also about making the necessary adjustments to fit the parts and situations that the directors assign. Here are some surprising facts about celebrities that you may not be aware of.
1. When Johnny Depp saw the severe weather conditions on the last day of filming for “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”, he decided to purchase coats for the whole team, which cost $62,000.
We think that when we hear about a multimillionaire actor or actress, they spend all of their money on themselves and ignore the rest of the world.
Depp, though, is not among them. The rain poured the whole day on the last day of filming for “The Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger’s Tides,” and it didn’t stop. Johnny, being Johnny, spent more than $62,000 on warm raincoats for the whole group!
This isn’t the first time he’s done something kind for his team; he often brings in wine from his own vineyard for himself, the crew, and the actors to enjoy while filming! [Source]
2. Morgan Freeman’s left hand’s fingers were paralyzed in a vehicle accident in 2008. A year later, he became the first American to record a scene while playing golf one-handed on the Legend Golf & Safari Resort’s extreme 19th hole.
Morgan Freeman was driving a 1997 Nissan Maxima late on the night of August 3, 2008. When he was in a severe car accident in Ruleville, Mississippi, he was traveling with a female passenger, Demaris Meyer.
His arm, shoulder, and elbow were all broken in the collision. Freeman had surgery on his shoulder and arms on August 5, 2008, to correct nerve damage.
Doctors worked for four hours, but his left hand’s fingers did not regain mobility. To avoid blood pooling due to inactivity, Freeman now wears a compression glove.
Because Freeman is left-handed, the injury limited his ability to move his left hand’s fingers. Freeman’s irrepressible spirit was unaffected by the catastrophe.
He became the first American to record a par on the extreme 19th hole at Legend Golf & Safari Resort while playing golf one-handed. [Source]
3. When it came to films such as The Devil’s Advocate, The Replacements, and The Matrix prequels, Keanu Reeves refused to accept millions of dollars in compensation so that the money could go toward hiring better actors or funding greater special effects.
After the success of the film Speed in 1994, Reeves began to be very picky about the roles he took on going forward. When the $11 million offer for “Speed 2: Cruise Control” came up in 1995, he turned it down to tour with his band Dogstar and perform Hamlet as the lead part at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, his biggest payday to date.
Al Pacino’s portrayal in The Devil’s Advocate, which got positive reviews and performed well at the box office, cost him $1 million.
To cast Gene Hackman in 2000’s The Replacements, he accepted a 90% salary reduction. The film got lukewarm reviews.
The next year, Reeves decided to forego his part of the ticket revenues from The Matrix sequels, estimated at $38 million, so that the producers could spend more money on special effects. [Source]
4. To test how well his physical humor would translate to a foreign audience, Atkinson insisted on appearing on a French-language show rather of an English-language one during his first performances as Mr. Bean. The performance was a great hit in 245 countries and won many accolades on the world stage.
Mr. Bean’s first appearance was at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal, Canada, in 1987. Atkinson insisted on performing in front of a French-speaking crowd rather than an English-speaking one when he was there.
The festival organizers were perplexed, but Atkinson’s goal was to explore how well his physical humor would work with non-English-speaking audiences.
The series won many international prizes, including the Rose d’Or, and spawned an animated sequel. [Source]