10 Actors Who Got Paid To Do Pretty Much Nothing

2019's Addams Family failed to bowl over viewers, but even the harshest critics praised the excellent cast. Oscar Isaac feels like he was born to portray Gomez. Charlize Theron nails Morticia. Finn Wolfhard performs the impossible by making Pugsley an interesting character for once.

But the one casting choice that perplexed everyone was Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. AKA Snoop Dogg (Yes, his real name is Calvin.) The legendary rapper may not be the first person one would think of when casting for The Addams Family, but Snoop is so effortlessly charming, he could play almost any role effortlessly.

So, who was he cast as? Cousin Itt - the bewhiskered Addams who speaks in high-pitched gibberish. This means a casting director hired a musician with one of the most recognisable voices on the planet, and cast him in a role where his speech is indecipherable. Weirder still, his name was used to promote this pointless reboot despite the fact Snoop never says a line that’s comprehensible to the human ear.

Although it's not clear how much Snoop was paid for the role, any amount is too much considering how redundant his performance is.

There are some actors you can't envision lending their voice to a children's cartoon. Can you picture Daniel Day-Lewis in Minions? Or Clint Eastwood in The Emoji Movie? Because performers like this are renowned for serious dramas, you can't imagine them appearing in a kiddy property.

And because Sean Penn is a two-time Academy Award winner, best-known for his work in Dead Man Walking, Milk, and Mystic River, no one could believe it when he was cast in The Angry Birds Movie.

Why him? Was his casting a joke?

And the answer is - Kind of. The film's executive producer, David Maisel, has been friends with Penn for years, and thought it would be funny to cast him in the role of the grumpy bird, Terence.

As ridiculous as this sounds, Penn's casting could work. He may not be known for comedy but Penn's so talented, he's sure to bring out a few laughs if given the right material.

But here's the problem. His character doesn't speak. Throughout the entire movie, Terence communicates through grunting.

Penn's casting is so non-sensical, he admitted he didn't understand why Maisel wanted him for the role, and it took a 30-minute pitch before he was onboard.

After climbing the Burj Khalifa, hanging on the side of a plane in mid-take off, and chasing a guy with a literal broken leg, it seems like the hero of Mission Impossible, Ethan Hunt, can accomplish anything.

But it's easy to forget he gets a lot of help from colleagues, especially his intelligence operative, Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames). In all of Hunt's missions, Luther has been there, hacking systems, building intel, or just giving his long-time friend some advice.

But while watching Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, viewers noticed Luther was notably absent and so, assumed he wasn't in the movie. Thankfully, he popped up in the final scene for a little cameo. His appearance was brief, but it was nice to see Luther chatting to Ethan like old times.

Even though Ghost Protocol is the least screen-time Luther has received in the franchise, it ironically netted the Pulp Fiction star his biggest pay-check. Although he was paid $3 million for the previous entry, Rhames demanded far more for this entry, knowing Mission Impossible was a guaranteed moneymaker. Despite only appearing for three minutes, he earned a staggering $7.7 million.

Like The Terminator, Michael Biehn got to play the male lead in the sci-fi sequel, Aliens. But unlike The Terminator, his character, Corporal Dwayne Hicks lived, giving Biehn the impression he would get the chance to return for the follow-up.

So, when he discovered his character was killed off in Alien3's prologue, he was ticked off. And when I say "ticked off", I mean he used dozens and dozens of four-letter expletives while talking to the director on the phone.

But it gets worse. The studio needed Biehn's permission to use his likeness for the scene where Hicks' corpse is discovered. When Biehn flat-out refused, the studio execs asked if they could use a photograph of him instead. Biehn reluctantly agreed.

As compensation, Biehn was paid almost the same amount he earned while working on Aliens for ten months. (Some sources state he was received a higher wage for Alien3, but this has never been officially confirmed.)

Interestingly, Biehn would've been paid more if he agreed to have his likeness used for the Hicks' dummy. In hindsight, Biehn admits he should've accepted these terms.

Batman Returns went through so many revisions, it bared little resemblance to the finished product. At one point, the story would've centred around the Penguin finding a treasure map under Bruce Wayne's house. In another script, the Penguin would've discovered Christopher Walken's character, Max Schreck, was his long-lost brother.

And in the latest script, Batman would've teamed up with Robin, played by Marlon Wayans. However, this wasn't some idea that was thrown out early in the production. This was such a last-minute change, Robin's costume was completed, sets for his scenes had been constructed, and action figures for Batman's sidekick were ready to go.

Ultimately, it was decided that Batman Returns was overstuffed with characters, resulting in Robin's appearance being delayed until Batman Forever, where Chris O' Donnell was recast in the role.

But since Wayans had signed a contract for a two-movie deal, he was still paid $100,000. Not only that, Wayans is STILL being paid now. For nearly 30 years, the Scary Movie star has received residual checks for both movies, even though he doesn't appear in either of them!

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves concludes with Robin of Locksley defeating the wicked, Christmas-cancelling sheriff of Nottingham and rescuing Lady Mariam. Just as Robin and Mariam are about to tie the knot, their ceremony is interrupted by the sudden return of King Richard the Lionheart, played by the late Sean Connery. The king thanks Robin for protecting his kingdom while he was away, and shows his appreciation by giving the bride away.

Even though Prince of Thieves was underwhelming overall, this climax is remembered fondly, due to Connery's wonderful surprise cameo. (Would you believe the studio initially wanted John Cleese!?)

The Scottish performer is so effortlessly charismatic as the English king, most people don't realise he only has four lines! Not only that, Connery only worked on the film for one day.

Just when you thought you heard it all, he got paid $250,000 for his teeny-weeny appearance. Although it's easy to accuse actors of being greedy when they receive a hefty sum for minor work, Connery was nice enough to donate his entire fee to a hospital in Scotland.

Like many Biblical adaptations at the time, The Greatest Story Ever Told had an all-star cast, including Max Von Sydow, Charlton Heston, Donald Pleasance, Telly Savalas, Martin Landau, Sidney Poitier, and Angela Lansbury.

However, the one performer everyone was keen on seeing was John Wayne. Because of his starpower, viewers were more excited to seeing the Duke than the actors play Jesus or the Devil. Sadly, fans were disappointed to learn Wayne only played a centurion at the crucifixion and only delivers a single line.

Despite only working on The Greatest Story Ever Told for two days, Wayne bagged $250,000. Now, getting paid a lot for little work isn't a big deal in Hollywood. In fact, Wayne got paid the same amount for four days work on The Longest Day.

But his appearance in The Greatest Story Ever Told is worth addressing for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he was the first person cast, and was used as a selling point over four years before the movie came out, even though he only appears for five seconds. Also, his face is obscured so it's impossible to tell who's playing the character.

And finally, his delivery of his only line is mind-bogglingly awful. In a way, it's impressive how Wayne managed to make the death of Jesus Christ sound boring.

It's well-known among film fanatics that Marlon Brando was paid an unprecedented $7 million for his performance as Jor-El in Superman: The Motion Picture, despite only appearing for seven minutes.

If you think that's impressive, the Godfather star made over double that amount for his work on Superman II. At this point, you might ask, "Wait, did Jor-El appear in the sequel?"

No, he didn't. Brando shot a scene where a hologram of Jor-El speaks to Superman, but it was left on the cutting room floor. The scene was reshot where Superman speaks to a hologram of his mother, Lara.

Even though it's always irritating when an actor's scene is cut, this decision was massively problematic for the studio. You see, Brando was contracted to be paid 11.75% of Superman II's earnings. But since he was no longer in the movie, this stipulation was revoked, making his fee significantly lower.

Enraged by studio's meddling, Brando took the producers to court and won. In the end, Brando was paid $15 million for a three-minute scene that nobody saw until it was released in the director's cut 26 years later.

After officially joining the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Mark Hamill was informed by the director, JJ Abrams, that his character, Luke Skywalker, wouldn't have a prominent appearance, since the story would focus on a new generation of heroes. Despite receiving this warning, Hamill still assumed he would have a reasonable amount to do.

Sadly, Hamill (and the entire Star Wars community) was disappointed to see the iconic Jedi only show up in one dialogue-free scene. Because Luke is regarded as the face of George Lucas' franchise, it was bizarre to see the Force-wielding hero have such a minimal role in this sequel.

But what's more bizarre is how much he got paid. Despite the fact he didn't do anything except turn around and remove his hood, Hamill was paid a million dollars. By comparison, his salary for the original Star Wars was $650,000.

Stranger still, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega recieved an insultingly low fee of $300,000 for The Force Awakens. This means Mark Hamill, who can be technically classified as an extra in the film, earned over triple the amount of the lead actors.

Bob Hoskins has such an uncanny resemblance to Alphonse "Scarface" Capone it's criminal he never got the chance to play the infamous gangster in a film adaptation.

However, Hoskins was suppose to play Capone in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables. When the director met Hoskins to discuss the movie, he admitted Robert De Niro was his first choice to play Capone. Because De Niro had yet to agree to work on the film, De Palma told Hoskins the role was his if he wanted it, which the Cockney actor agreed to.

So, when Hoskins discovered De Niro had accepted the part shortly after, Hoskins assumed he no longer had ties with the project.

But one day, he received a check worth $200,000 from De Palma and a letter reading, "Thank you Bob for being my stand-by. Love Brian." Hoskins was bewildered since he hadn't the slightest clue he would be paid for his time with the renowned filmmaker.

Immediately after receiving the money, Hoskins rank up De Palma and said, "Brian, do you have any more films you don't want me to be in?"