While this information may not be available, I'm curious to know if any cast members from the original series have discussed/disclosed how much money they were given to appear in the Star Trek movies (Movies 1-6). Given the fact that he was "one of the big three," did DeForest Kelley get a salary equal to that of Shatner and Nimoy? What did the "second string" (Sulu, Uhura, etc) earn for their screen appearances?
Star Trek Salaries
- Thread starter Komack
- Start date
Whilst I'm not entirely sure of what TOS cast recieved for their salaries, I'm pretty sure that William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy recieved the most. As it traditionally is within most Hollywood movies, the person(s) who recieve star billing usually recieve the biggest salary. DeForest Kelley probably recieved a larger salary than the co-stars of the movies, but not as much as what Shatner or Nimoy recieved. If I had to take a guess, I'd say the order of payouts in TWOK, as an example was the following.
William Shatner
Leonard Nimoy
Ricardo Montalban
DeForest Kelley
Kirstie Alley
James Doohan/Walter Koenig
Paul Winfield
Bibi Besch
Merritt Butrick
George Takei/Nichelle Nichols
William Shatner
Leonard Nimoy
Ricardo Montalban
DeForest Kelley
Kirstie Alley
James Doohan/Walter Koenig
Paul Winfield
Bibi Besch
Merritt Butrick
George Takei/Nichelle Nichols
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There's only a couple of things I know for sure, based on published information. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy had a "favored nations" clause written into their contracts from the time of TMP. Therefore, whatever salary one got, the other got. That's for the acting, of course. Naturally, when one was directing, they got extra money for that. I don't know what their acting salaries were, but they were the same for all of the films.
Also, I know that DeForest Kelley definitely wasn't being paid as much as Shatner and Nimoy for most of the films. However, when TUC went into production, which they knew would be both the last Trek film and Kelley's last film, Nimoy, who was executive producer, arranged a $1 million salary for Kelley to ensure that he was very well provided for in his retirement.
Also, I know that DeForest Kelley definitely wasn't being paid as much as Shatner and Nimoy for most of the films. However, when TUC went into production, which they knew would be both the last Trek film and Kelley's last film, Nimoy, who was executive producer, arranged a $1 million salary for Kelley to ensure that he was very well provided for in his retirement.
I recall reading somewhere -- God knows where, but somewhere -- that for most of the TOS films, the supporting cast -- Doohan, Koenig, Takei, etc. -- received 200K per film. I cannot vouch for that sum's accuracy, only the fact that I read this in an article pre-Internet days.
Sir Rhosis
Sir Rhosis
I can't see Alley, a nobody at the time, being paid more than Oscar nominee Winfield, or any of the other TOS cast, no matter where she was billed in the credits.
As I understand it, Alley was basically paid as a extra, which made sense for her professional, to be prominently feature in a major movie was the real pay off.
Given that, except for convention appearances, this was about the only acting work some of these people were getting, even in the 1980's that wasn't as much money as it might seem.
You "understand" incorrectly.
No agent would ever sign his client to a motion picture role that big on an extra's money. The script indicates it was a very meaty role. Contractually, Alley even received an "Introducing..." credit in the opening credits; she was well paid for the job she did. (The problem came with ST III, when she was offered reduced salary. Contractually, they had to make her agent an offer on a sequel. Again, that kind of contractual stuff is way beyond the realms of a mere extra, a "walk on" two-line extra or even a bit player.)
Extras often don't get any billing at all.
Judson Scott was also quite well paid for ST II. He was considered a rising star, because "The Phoenix" had just been filmed and there were very high hopes for its success. His agent fought to get similar billing to Merritt Butrick (ie. "And Judson Scott as Joachim") but, in the end, elected to "waive billing". Poor ol' Judson found out on opening night that "waived billing" meant "no billing" whatsoever.
at 200k (which ive also read was their salary) with 5 movies with in 10 year span, that's one million dollars, so span it out 20 years thats a 50k annual budget, seems plenty enough to little proletariat me for somebody spending 2.5-3 weeks on a movie set every couple years. yeah i know that dosent include taxes but nontheless
top that off with their convention gigs which give them some pocket change
anywho, i know from sulu's autobiography he got a call from deforest kelley once, i think this was before Star Trek VI, asking for financial advice because sulu knew accounting or something - apparently kelley (who i like a lot) was having some serious money issues so that was nice on nimoys part to help him in star trek vi
top that off with their convention gigs which give them some pocket change
anywho, i know from sulu's autobiography he got a call from deforest kelley once, i think this was before Star Trek VI, asking for financial advice because sulu knew accounting or something - apparently kelley (who i like a lot) was having some serious money issues so that was nice on nimoys part to help him in star trek vi
Okay, then how much was she paid?
She was probably paid a resonable figure that gave her the chance to enjoy herself for a while and be financially secure until the next job came around. I don't want to speculate because I would be completely wrong, but she was definitely one of the highest paid actors in the movie.
I'm sure Shatner, Nimoy and Montalban all recieved seven figure sums for their work in TWOK. In those days, screen time and days of work were still used to calculate an actors payout. That was my logic in estimating Nichols and Takei at the bottom of the payouts. They were absent from many scenes in the movie and had very little dialogue, despite recieving co-star billing. Kirstie Alley on the other hand was present in many key scenes of the movie and had a lot of dialogue, it was also intended for the character of Saavik to replace Spock in future Trek movies and/or productions and I'm sure Alley recieved a "motivational" bonus to return. Despite all that, it fell apart and Robin Curtis was given the role of Saavik in TSFS (which consequently was larger than Saavik's role in TWOK).
I'm sure Shatner, Nimoy and Montalban all recieved seven figure sums for their work in TWOK. In those days, screen time and days of work were still used to calculate an actors payout. That was my logic in estimating Nichols and Takei at the bottom of the payouts. They were absent from many scenes in the movie and had very little dialogue, despite recieving co-star billing. Kirstie Alley on the other hand was present in many key scenes of the movie and had a lot of dialogue, it was also intended for the character of Saavik to replace Spock in future Trek movies and/or productions and I'm sure Alley recieved a "motivational" bonus to return. Despite all that, it fell apart and Robin Curtis was given the role of Saavik in TSFS (which consequently was larger than Saavik's role in TWOK).
Paramount actually offered her less than ST II, arguing that sequels "made less money" - so her agent made a ridiculously high counter offer, expecting a compromise, but Paramount chose not to do a counter-counter offer. They had fulfilled Alley's contract by making an offer. But Director Nimoy was already planning a rethink on the Saavik character.
Crazy stuff...It just goes to show the complex nature of contract negotiations. I always thought Alley was offered a generous bonus to return for TSFS but she pushed for more and as a result was replaced with Robin Curtis.
I know that Nick Meyer wanted the character of Saavik to return in TUC, but negotiations with Kirstie Alley feel through there as well. I'm guessing that Meyer had no interest in re-casting Robin Curtis in the role again either.
In his autobiography, "Sulu" tells that his father got him into real estate at a fairly early age, and that has been his fallback ever since. I'm sure he is fairly savvy at investing in real estate.
Takei also said essentially the same thing at an early 80s con I attended.
Doug
Both Meyer and Curtis have said so in past "Starlog" interviews.
I was always annoyed at the Saavik recasting. Nothing against Robin Curtis... she's just obviously not the same character that Kristie Alley played.
Saavik's betrayal would have been much more suitable in VI, but I really think it would have been best to have had the Vulcan apprentice be a red herring and the real culprit be a main character. Chekov getting "Piotr" flashbacks or something like that.
Saavik's betrayal would have been much more suitable in VI, but I really think it would have been best to have had the Vulcan apprentice be a red herring and the real culprit be a main character. Chekov getting "Piotr" flashbacks or something like that.
Based on the billing and her part in the film, I absolutely can and she most likely was.
And no, she wasn't "paid as an extra" - SAG rules would not have permitted that.
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