N2. Jon Voight – Midnight Cowboy – 1969 Minimum
Jon Voight, the father of actress Angelina Jolie, starred in the film Midnight Cowboy where he played a luck drifter Joe Buck, who dreams of making it as a male prostitute in New York City.
Back then, Jon’s performance was critically acclaimed but also launched his career as one of the best and most consistent actors of the ‘70s.
But despite of all that Jon accepted a tiny fee because he was convinced that the role would make him a serious actor, something that turned out to be right.
He earned the minimum wage for appearing in a feature film and the production crew would even charge the actor for any coffee he drank on set.
Midnight Cowboy is regarded by many to be one of the greatest films ever made having won numerous awards and had a significant impact on the movie industry as a whole.
It was also a runaway financial hit bringing in $44 million at the box office, despite the budget of just $3.2 million.
