Seann William Scott got his big break starring in the 1999 teen sex comedy American Pie as Steve Stifler.
However, it turns out the now-46-year-old was paid a very small sum for the flick that launched his career.
Scott recently revealed on the Rick Eisen Show that he only earned $8000 for the entire movie, which made $235 million at the box office and has become a cult classic over the decades, the New York Post reveals.
Even after that tiny figure in 1999 is adjusted for inflation, is it still way less than you’d expect a Hollywood actor to earn from such a big role in a wildly successful film.
On the Rick Eisen Show, Scott was asked if it was true American Pie was his first big role and that he was only paid a four-figure amount.
“I think so, yeah, because I remember afterwards I bought a used Thunderbird for like $5000 or maybe $6000, I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, baby’,” he said.
“I don’t know what happened to the other $2000 because I ended up having to work at the LA Zoo as a churro guy, so maybe it was even less than $8000,” he explained.
Scott has also starred in several movies in the American Pie franchise, including the 2001 sequel as well as American Wedding in 2003 and American Reunion in 2012.
He and co-star Jason Biggs were allegedly paid $5 million each for their performances and recently reunited for a DoorDash commercial in character.
In a May interview with the Daily Blast Live, Scott joked about what his character would be doing in today’s day and age.
“I think Stifler would be a stripper. He’d be working at a pretty crappy strip club,” he quipped.
“His stage name would be ‘Inferno’, dressed up as a fireman. Problem is his body is a little soft. He let himself go a little bit, but he’s still trying out his sexy moves,” the Dude, Where’s My Car actor added.
Scott even dished at the time in a separate interview that ideas have been floating around for American Pie 5.
He told Comicbook.com that the story the cast and crew have floated for the fifth sequel is so ingenious that it could work in this “tough” comedic Hollywood landscape.
He noted: “I don’t know, I just love the character so much. We have to have a great idea, and especially these days, it has to be awesome.”
“You know, comedy is tough, and they have always been tough, but you know, comedies have really changed. But I think, honestly, we have been talking about an idea. I had one and I still have one that we’ve literally just recently started talking about,” Scott said.
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission