Ray Donovan actor Jon Voight recently talked about how low his salary was for Midnight Cowboy, a role that would jumpstart his movie career and net him an Oscar nomination.
Voight talked with Lauri Neff of the Associated Press about how little he was paid, reports The Telegraph. His pay was so meager the studio actually “even sent me a $14.73 coffee shop charge,” the 74-year-old actor said.
Voight desperately wanted the part saying, “I said, ‘Tell them I’ll do this part for nothing.’” He added, “they took me at my word, and they gave me the minimum for Midnight Cowboy.”
The Charlotte Observer reports, Voight also commented, “it was the worst,” but “I knew what it meant. It was going to give me a career and I was right.”
The actor played the role of Joe Buck, a simple cowboy who moved to New York and dreamed of being an escort to rich older women. Unfortunately, things do not go his way. The Telegraph notes that Voight urged his friend and co-star Dustin Hoffman to audition for Enrico ‘Ratso’ Rizzo.
Midnight Cowboy won three Oscars, a Golden Globe and was nominated for several more awards.
Voight is in the upcoming Getaway out Friday and on TV opposite Liev Schreiber on Ray Donovan.
image: Wikimedia Commons
