7 Biggest Paychecks Actors Made For NOT Playing A Character

3. Bob Hoskins - The Untouchables

Already on his way to becoming a national treasure with roles under his belt such as The Long Good Friday, Brazil and an already in the can Mona Lisa, Bob Hoskins was given an early ticket to the Hollywood big time in 1986 when he was called up for a drink and a natter with director Brian De Palma. Around this time, De Palma was busy getting his Elliot Ness biopic off the ground, The Untouchables, and wanted Hoskins to play Al Capone. There was, however, a pretty big catch: De Palma was really hankering for his former Greetings star, Robert De Niro, to play the larger than life mob boss, but was having problems with Paramount, who were balking at De Niro's fee. This was made clear to the ever affable Hoskins, who happily accepted the role on the basis that he would play it if De Palma failed to recruit his preferred actor of choice. Hoskins later recollected that as time passed he was aware that the movie had entered production and De Niro had landed the role, but thought nothing of it. That was until a letter arrived in the post containing a cheque for £20,000 - or £120,000, as some reports indicate - and a warm thank you from De Palma. This prompted one of Hoskin's best anecdotes, where he allegeldy called up the director and said, "Brian, if you€™ve ever got any other films you don€™t want me in, son, you just give me a call.€™€ Pure class.