Last Sunday night,
Barkhad Abdi, the Somali American actor who was nominated for Best
Supporting Actor for his role in captain Phillips was mixing with the
great and the good of Hollywood at the Oscars.
The movie was the 28-year-old's film debut for which he was paid $65,000 for starring in the picture.
He
left his job in his brother's mobile phone store when he got the gig,
but now two years on, the money is spent and with no definite offers of
work in the pipelines, he is completely broke.
Another out-of-work actor! Captain Phillips star
and Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi has had an incredible rise to fame, yet
despite his Best Supporting Actor nomination he is now broke and without
work
Living the high life, kinda: Actor Barkhad Abdi
attends the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter in
West Hollywood
Me & Mr Hanks: Oscar winner Tom Hanks played Captain Richard
Phillips in the movie inspired by the 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking,
during which merchant mariner Captain Phillips was taken hostage by
pirates in the Indian Ocean led by Abduwali Muse
Despite
receiving supporting actor nominations not just at the Oscars but the
Golden Globes, SAG and even winning a BAFTA Award, all the accolades in
the world simply do not come with cash.
The
New Yorker reported that the former limo driver was living off the
glitzy glamor while in Los Angeles for the awards season.
Instead of staying at the
posh Beverly Hilton hotel, he chose instead to stay near the airport so
that he could be near a friend who could drive him around for free.
Abdi's also rented his tux on Sunday night.
Although he is still living in Minnesota, he is planning to move to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career in earnest.
I'm the Captain now! The Somalia native was only
paid $65,000 two years ago for his Academy Award-nominated performance
playing the pirate leader opposite Tom Hanks
Living it up: Barkhad Abdi, 28, gets behind the wheel of a Ferrari in Hollywood, but like his clothes, it's rented
On set: Bakhad Abdi, center starring in Captain
Phillips. During awards season, he told the magazine his clothes were
loaners and that he got a town car to drive him around, but only for
film publicity
He’s broke, apart from a weekly allowance that the studio provides and a car which he can use for official events only.
This for an actor that was quick enough to improvise the now famous 'I'm the captain now' line in the film
Adibi has said that he is not a big spender. At this stage, he can't afford to be.
'I
never pictured myself as a famous person. I like the essence of film
making and storytelling. The fame part, I'm just trying to take it
easy,' he told ABC News.
'I'm
not big into buying stuff, I'm a simple guy,' he said. 'I bought a car,
not that big name of a car, a Saab. I'm not into big name stuff.'
Adibi was a frequent guest on the talk show circuit during awards season, and also did several print and online interviews.
Critical acclaim: Barkhad Abdi
has been nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor for his role
as a Somali pirate in The Captain
His Best Support Actor nomination put
him up against Hollywood regulars Bradley Cooper, Michael Fassbender,
Jared Leto, and Jonah Hill
Prior
to his role in Captain Phillips he was a limo driver in Minneapolis
before taking working at his brother's T-Mobile shop in the 24 Mall
following the nine weeks of filming.
Adibi was born in
Mogadishu and moved to Minneapolis in Minnesota when he was 14.
He was working as a
limousine driver and also part-time at his brother's cellphone store
before he won the career-making role in Paul Greengrass's movie.
After filming, he was forced to return to work selling mobile phones, but decided to quit when the movie was released.
'How I thought about it was, like, when the movie came out, reviews either gonna be good or bad,' Abdi said to The New Yorker.
'Either way, I cannot be working here.'
From Minneapolis to Hollywood: Barkhad Abdi called this modest apartment block home just a few years ago
A more modest life: The 24 Mall where Barkhad Abdi's brother Guled runs a
T Mobile store - and Barkhad at the one of the numerous award ceremonies he has attended over the past couple of months
Captain
Phillips was nominated for a total of six Oscars, including best film,
but did not take any prizes at Sunday night's ceremony. It has so far
made more than $217m at the box office against a budget of $55m.
Abdi says he hasn't seen any bonuses or extra paychecks despite the film's success.
'It’s been a really wild ride. Every time
it gets bigger and bigger and bigger and now it’s an Oscar nomination.
It’s just a little too big to comprehend. But that’s life. I’m just
looking forward to the next adventure.'
The A-list: Barkhad Abdi shows off pictures of
his new friends Reese Witherspoon and Sacha Baron Cohen while enjoying
the Golden Globes in Hollywood
New pals: Barkhad Abdi poses with House of Cards star and Oscar winner Kevin Spacey - while director Paul Greengrass looks on
Happy
to post pictures of his new Hollywood chums, ranging from Reese
Witherspoon to Kevin Space and Sacha Baron Cohen - and even happier to
zoom around LA in a Ferrar, Barkhad still says he hasn't gone all Hollywood and hired a stylist or acting coach.
Abdi is now in talks to star in a film about South African runner Willie Mtolo, who competed in the 1992 New York marathon.
The
film called The Place That Hits the Sun is about a Marathon runner who
develops an unlikely friendship with a local bar owner, once sanctions
against South African athletes competing internationally were lifted.
Speaking
about a future in acting, he said: 'Yeah, I want to keep on doing it...
any role, as long as it’s a good story, it doesn’t matter ... I'm
moving to L.A. and I’m reading some scripts now, specifically there’s a
TV show that I’m reading for.'
Buddies: Barkhad Abdi chats to co-star Tom Hanks at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards last month
Hug it out: Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi share a hug at the Critics' Choice Movie Awards last month
DM
No comments:
Post a Comment