Barkhad Abdi was in the running for Oscar gold Sunday, but according to reports, the Somali-born actor is completely broke.
Abdi delivered a riveting performance in his role in Captain Phillips as the desperate pirate Muse. Abdi ad-libbed the film’s signature line: “I’m the captain now.” But the New Yorker reveals that he is now struggling to make ends meet.
“When Abdi is in Los Angeles to promote the film, he subsists on a per diem, good at the Beverly Hilton, where the studio likes to put him up. The town car is available only for official publicity events and his clothes are loaners,” reads the article. “Recently Abdi requested that he be allowed to stay at a commuter hotel near LAX to be closer to his friend, a Somali cab driver from Minneapolis, who shuttles him around for free.”
Abdi earned $65,000 for his performance in the $55 million Tom Hanks-driven film, but that was more than two years ago. And even with an Oscar nomination, there’s no guarantee of his future earning potential as an actor. Abdi already won a BAFTA for best supporting actor, and is now reading scripts for his next role.
Hopefully it pays much more than $65,000.
