Chris Tucker Says He Was Only Paid $10,000 For Playing Smokey In ‘Friday!’
YourBlackWorld.net, By Victor Omondi, Posted February 16th 2021
Chris Tucker played Smokey on the Friday and many fans loved him on that role. While many people may have thought that he received a fat package out of it, he recently revealed that he wasn’t paid much despite that film maintaining a cult classic status. Recently, during a new episode of the Shay Shay series owned by Shannon Sharpe, Tucker said he was paid only $10,000 for the role.
“It’s one of those things – it was just a small movie,” Tucker said.
“We filmed it in 20 days. I got about $10,000 for it or whatever, I didn’t care. I wanted the opportunity,” added Tucker.
According to Tucker, the Club wasn’t so loose with the funds. In fact, he estimated the total budget for the film to be somewhere between $2 million and $3 million. Moreover, for each scene, the club permitted only two takes per actor. The actors couldn’t help but botch the takes. Otherwise, they would find themselves on their way out.
“It was that small of a movie, but that was the beauty of it. It allowed me to get into character,” Tucker recounted. “It wasn’t no big distractions like big movie sets.”
Tucker wouldn’t go without commending the good spirit that spurred his fellow actors.
“You got light people and sound people and everybody wanna be a star,” he said.
“But that movie was just a camera and me and Cube on the porch. Magic came out of it, thank God,” added Tucker.
Recounting the good times he had while shooting the film, Tucker highlighted Faizon Love, who played the Big Worm character.
Tucker said, “We were best friends. We clowned around all day, every day. It was so easy to work with him, but we were laughing a lot,” continued Tucker. “Faizon would laugh all the time because he looking at me like, ‘Look at him trying to be serious.’”
Additionally, Tucker talked of Bernie Mac, who appeared as Pastor Clever in the Friday movie. He said, “And Bernie Mac, he’s one of my heroes. I was fanning him.”
