Taraji P. Henson was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 2008’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but years later she was still excited about the $150,000 she was offered for the film, even after producers rejected her $500,000 quote.
“You don’t hear $20 million a lot anymore, but that’s what was happening at this point,” Henson said on the Ladies First With Laura Brown podcast in 2021, referring to the film’s stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. “And of course that’s not to say they shouldn’t have paid Kate and Brad their due.”
However, she continued, “I also bring some money to the table, and I felt that for me to contribute to this blockbuster, which was what I was looking for at that time in my career, was fair and fair to ticket sales. I wouldn’t do that.” When they offered $100,000, Henson was “disappointed,” she recalled. “I ended up getting $150,000, but I had to swallow my pride.”
As for the breakdown, Henson admitted, “I know people say, ‘$150,000 is a lot of money!'” “I don’t want people to think I’m ungrateful because that’s not me.” But she calculated, “Uncle Sam is going to get 50 percent of that, so what’s left for you? $75,000. Uncle Sam. Before I receive any money, I have to pay 30 percent to the team before taxes. So if Uncle Sam takes 75, I get another 30 from that 75, so I might have made $40,000?”
