Ian Somerhalder Shares How He, Nikki Reed Overcame 8-Figure Debt

Ian Somerhalder is going over the rules of business.

The actor from The Rules of Attraction revealed how he and his wife, Nikki Reed, overcame a failed business venture that resulted in significant debt.

Ian recently shared with TopMob News’ Will Marfuggi that he stopped acting seven years ago. He explained that he left a very successful television career because a business venture he started ran into serious financial trouble. Poor planning and fraud led to significant debt – an eight-figure loss for him and his wife.

He explained that everything fell apart after he personally guaranteed a large sum – eight figures – to a bank for a clean energy company he was involved with.

Years later, he credits the Twilight actress with helping them reach financial stability.

Let me tell you, getting back on your feet after a really tough financial hit – we’re talking eight-figure losses – is incredibly challenging. My wife, Nikki, and I faced that head-on, and she was a total rockstar in navigating us through it. We basically had to liquidate everything – our houses, art collection, cars, even our watches – to rebuild. It was a tough process, but we did it!

Reflecting on his time on The Vampire Diaries, the actor – who now co-owns several thriving businesses, including Brother’s Bond Bourbon with his former co-star Paul Wesley – said he probably should have saved his money and retired after the show’s success, rather than launching companies that might not ever turn a profit.

Ian, who is 47 and a father to 8-year-old Bodhi and a 2-year-old son with Nikki, has grown a lot since his earlier days. His new hobby has actually given him some useful insights into how businesses operate.

You know, I’ve recently started flight training, and it’s been a real eye-opener. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned isn’t just about how to fly, but about preparation. A huge part of being a pilot – and honestly, a good approach to life – is planning for every possible problem, spending just as much time figuring out what you’ll do if things go wrong as you do anticipating smooth sailing.

As for his advice for anyone starting a business with their spouse?

“Make it fun,” The Lost actor explained. “Remember, it’s supposed to be fun.”

He added, “Find the beauty in all of it.”

Ian recently discussed how his wife of 11 years helped him through a very difficult time. This happened while he was simultaneously building a significant company and starring as Damon in The Vampire Diaries from 2009 to 2017.

In 2021, Ian shared on Instagram that his wife took decisive action when she saw her husband struggling with his health and well-being. She worked tirelessly to build a support system and negotiate a solution to help him. He explained that she dedicated her life to rescuing him from this difficult situation, and it nearly cost her everything.

He added, “I am where I am BECAUSE of this woman.”

For more stars who have been open about their finances, read on…

According to Joe Giudice, he and his ex-wife, Teresa Giudice, barely earned anything for the first season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey. He revealed on his daughter Gia Giudice’s podcast, Casual Chaos, in August 2025 that their pay was around $25,000, which he considered very low, but they accepted it.

Creating the initial season of the show wasn’t inexpensive. The father of four recalled, “I remember that first big party we threw in my living room. I think the whole show cost me around $150,000 that first year.”

Although the winner of Dancing With the Stars doesn’t receive a cash prize, all finalists are paid through the end of the show, according to season 33 winner Jenna Johnson. She also mentioned that they receive a bonus on top of that.

Johnson explained that winning doesn’t mean a huge payout – it’s mostly about the trophy. And while dancers are guaranteed a certain number of weeks on the show, professional contracts depend on how long they’ve been with the program. Reports suggest dancers earn between $1,200 and $1,600 per episode, potentially reaching $100,000 for the entire season, though ABC hasn’t confirmed these figures. Celebrities, on the other hand, start with a $125,000 salary, and can earn up to an additional $50,000 as they advance to the semifinals and finals.

Jennifer Lawrence, an Academy Award winner, earned $25 million for her role in Adam McKay’s comedy Don’t Look Up. However, her co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio, who also has an Oscar, received $30 million for the same film.

Jennifer Lawrence acknowledged that Leonardo DiCaprio earns more at the box office than she does. While she’s happy with her own compensation, she explained to Vanity Fair in December 2020/January 2021 that it’s often awkward to ask for equal pay. She and other women she knows have experienced situations where questioning a pay difference leads to vague explanations that avoid addressing potential gender bias.

Jennifer Lawrence’s optimistic outlook wasn’t always natural. When the 2014 Sony email leak showed she was paid less than her male co-stars in the 2013 film American Hustle, it sparked a widespread discussion about unequal pay for women in Hollywood.

In a 2017 interview with Channel 4 News, Lawrence explained she wasn’t worried about her earnings. ‘I’m lucky to have the job I do,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t about the amount of money – millions is still a lot! – it was about the principle of unfairness and inequality.’

Compared to Leonardo DiCaprio’s earnings, Jonah Hill received a relatively small $60,000 for his work in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street – before taxes and commissions. This is significantly less than the $10 million earned by the film’s star.

Hill said on The Howard Stern Show in 2014 that he was offered very little money for the role. However, he was eager to appear in a film directed by Martin Scorsese, so he quickly agreed to the deal, worried they might reconsider.

According to actor Jonah Hill, he’d be willing to make huge sacrifices – even sell his house and give away all his money – just for the chance to work with director Martin Scorsese. He explained that while movies like 22 Jump Street are good for earning a living, pursuing passion projects is far more important. He’d gladly do it all over again, emphasizing that the real reward isn’t financial, but doing work you truly believe in.

The actress hinted that the original Friends cast – including Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc – each earn around $20 million annually from the show’s continued broadcasts. She jokingly suggested to The Times in April 2026 that the reason is simply “Because Phoebe Buffay was so great!”

But in actuality, she praised the talents of her costars for their performances.

I thought my performance was decent, but Jennifer and Courteney were incredible! David and Matt had me in stitches, and Matthew—well, he was on another level entirely.

Oprah Winfrey happily accepted only a little bit of green to star in 1985’s The Color Purple.

In a 2023 interview with Essence, the media billionaire said they were initially offered just $35,000 for the film, but it turned out to be the most valuable $35,000 they ever made. They explained that the experience was transformative and a great learning opportunity.

Jennifer Lopez made history when she played the late Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla in the 1997 movie Selena. She was the first Latina actress to be paid $1 million for a film role.

Looking back at the movie that launched her career, Lopez recalled to Variety in 2019 that she was naive at the time and didn’t fully understand what was happening. She was thrilled they offered her a million dollars, and she believes everyone involved was trying to prove a point.

This success allowed her to earn hundreds of millions of dollars more, and sometimes she doesn’t even have to contribute financially.

I’ve always admired Jennifer Lopez’s approach to her career. She once told GQ that she follows her passions, and that’s so clear in everything she does. She even revealed she wasn’t hugely paid for Hustlers, but she produced it anyway because she believed in the project! She really invests in herself, you know? She’s like her song Jenny From the Block – she just does what she loves, and it shines through.

Adrien Brody wasn’t motivated by money when he made The Brutalist. He accepted the role of a struggling Hungarian architect in post-World War II America for a fee of $250,000 and went on to win his second Best Actor Oscar.

Brody told Variety he’s ready for a big studio film, explaining he’s completely invested in renovating a unique property – a barn resembling a castle – in upstate New York.

When asked about his early spending habits after joining Saturday Night Live in 2014 at age 20, Pete Davidson joked to New York magazine, “Do you know how much we make?” He then revealed he earned around $3,000 per episode, adding, “So I probably just bought dinner.”

It’s noteworthy that pay for new cast members on Saturday Night Live has stayed consistent over time. In 1975, original stars like John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, and Chevy Chase each earned $750 per episode. Considering inflation, that’s about $3,300 in 2014, and roughly $4,428 today (in 2025).

Kenan Thompson earns significantly more than $3,000 per episode of SNL these days, especially since he’s in his 22nd season—a record for the show. But he didn’t always make that much and, like everyone, he had to start with smaller roles early in his career.

In Demi Lovato’s 2024 documentary, Child Star, a former cast member of All That shared that their first paycheck was $800. They added that, being 12 years old at the time, it felt like a fortune – practically a million dollars.

It turns out Gilmore Girls’ status as a beloved rewatchable classic is literally priceless.

Actress Lauren Graham, best known for playing Lorelai Gilmore for seven seasons and then returning for the 2016 revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, recently shared on Jimmy Kimmel Live that she doesn’t receive any ongoing payments (residuals) from Netflix. However, she added that she’s been compensated with ‘love and appreciation’ from fans.

During the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, Tommy Dorfman revealed she wasn’t paid fairly for her work on 13 Reasons Why. The strike, along with the WGA strike, was largely due to streaming services like Netflix not offering extra pay to actors and crew when a show became popular.

Dorfman revealed on Threads on July 24th that she earned $29,953.24 for the first season of 13 Reasons Why before her agency, manager (a combined 20% fee), and taxes were taken out. She worked on 8 episodes over six months, doing all the promotional work and appearing in key promotional images. She also traveled frequently between New York City and San Francisco to film, often working for days without pay and barely qualifying for health insurance.

As a huge fan, I was thrilled to hear that in just the first month, the first season of the show racked up an incredible 476 million hours of viewing! That’s exactly why we’re all standing together – to support something so clearly popular and deserving of success.

Dax Shepard recently shared with Lauren Graham, a former co-star on their show Parenthood, that he was one of the lowest-paid actors on the NBC drama during its six-season run. He didn’t mention specific salaries or co-stars’ names.

But, the Armchair Expert host stressed that he did not mind.

Before becoming a parent, I always made it a priority to find out how much my coworkers were earning. I’d either ask them directly or discreetly check with my agent to get the information.

As a lifestyle expert, I often advise people to intentionally disconnect from information that might spoil a positive experience. This client of mine did just that – he made a conscious decision not to research his family’s history with the company. And honestly, it worked! Even when he started to suspect where he stood in terms of compensation, he was still able to enjoy the overall experience because he hadn’t clouded his judgment with prior knowledge.

In 2005, George Clooney told the Los Angeles Times that he and Grant Heslov each only made one dollar from their film, Good Night, and Good Luck. Clooney explained that to get the movie made, he had to cash his check for directing and give up his salary as an actor. Heslov, who also co-wrote and co-produced the film, did the same.

George Clooney’s passion project, a play about CBS News journalist Edward R. Murrow and his courageous reporting in the 1950s, proved to be a success. Clooney made his Broadway debut playing Murrow, and the show ran from June 2025. Even before its official opening on April 3rd, the play earned a record-breaking $3.3 million during previews – proving it was much more than just a labor of love for Clooney.

Christian Bale revealed in a 2022 interview with GQ that he was paid very little for his iconic role as Patrick Bateman in the 2000 film American Psycho. He explained that the production wasn’t initially eager to cast him, and it was only due to the support of director Mary Harron that he landed the part – and received the lowest legally permissible salary.

Bale recounted earning so little during one job that he recalled the makeup artists joking he was paid less than they were, while he was sitting in the makeup trailer.

Although his uncle was Rico, Jon Heder revealed in 2010 that he originally earned just $1,000 for his role in Napoleon Dynamite.

Once the unexpectedly popular comedy film proved successful, he was able to secure a share of the earnings. He told the New Zealand Herald that his cut was increased, saying, “They went a little bit higher.”

Despite a successful career with acclaimed films like Amistad and Blood Diamond, Djimon Hounsou believes he doesn’t earn enough as an actor in Hollywood.

The Beninese actor told CNN’s Larry Madowo in January 2025 that despite working in film for over twenty years, and having received two Oscar nominations and starred in many successful blockbusters, he still faces financial difficulties making a living.

In her 2024 memoir, Rebel Rising, Rebel Wilson revealed she earned $3,500 for her work on Bridesmaids. However, she had to pay the entire amount to the Screen Actors Guild to cover her union membership fees, meaning she effectively received no payment for the film.

Still, she wrote, the experience was “everything!”

The Australian actress’s career soared, and her salary increased dramatically from $65,000 for Pitch Perfect in 2012 to $10 million for Pitch Perfect 3 in 2017. She earned a total of $20 million from Pitch Perfect 3, Isn’t It Romantic, and The Hustle. However, after paying nearly 50% in taxes, 10% to her agents, and 5% to her lawyer, as well as her publicist, business manager, and assistant, she still considered her earnings a huge success.

In late 2017, Ellen Pompeo successfully renegotiated her contract for Grey’s Anatomy, earning $575,000 per episode. The deal also included a large signing bonus and a share of the show’s profits, estimated to be worth between $6 and $7 million.

In a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, 48-year-old Pompeo explained that she’s reached a point in her career where she confidently asks for fair compensation, something she feels comes with experience. She acknowledged the industry often sees her as less ‘relevant’ after playing the same character for 14 years. However, she argued that while many actors can perform well in a show’s first couple of seasons, maintaining that quality after 14 years demonstrates real talent.

Ellen Pompeo recently shared that she didn’t resent her Grey’s Anatomy costar, Patrick Dempsey, despite consistently earning less than him, even though her character was the show’s namesake.

In a March 2025 episode of her podcast, Call Her Daddy, she explained that she felt she deserved equal recognition, considering the show was named after her. She wasn’t upset about someone else’s success, but rather that her contributions weren’t valued as highly, and she believed that would always be the case.

Jamie Lee Curtis remembers earning $2,000 per week, totaling $8,000, for her first movie, the 1978 film Halloween. As she explained to Rotten Tomatoes in 2018, “Really, no one was getting paid much at all.”

Although the lead actress made a good amount of money, director John Carpenter’s friend, Nick Castle, felt successful earning $25 a day for sharing the role of Michael Myers. (Actually, Anthony Moran is the actor you briefly see under the mask, and editor Tommy Lee Wallace also played Michael Myers in some scenes.)

Looking back, it was a really intense experience,” said Castle, who went to film school with Carpenter at USC. He explained to Vanity Fair in 2018 that he was mainly interested in being on set to learn how movies are made and to understand directing. “I thought I’d be working for free, so getting paid $25 a day just for wearing a rubber mask was a nice surprise!”

Taraji P. Henson received an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in the 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. However, she was still frustrated years later that she only earned $150,000 for the movie, despite initially requesting $500,000.

In a 2021 interview on the Ladies First With Laura Brown podcast, producer Scott Henson explained that Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett each commanded around $20 million for their roles in the film. He added that their high salaries were justified, stating, “They deserved what they were paid.”

She explained that she was also bringing value to the project and felt her salary request was reasonable, considering the potential ticket sales the film could generate. She wouldn’t have accepted less. Henson said she was devastated when they initially offered only $100,000. Ultimately, she ended up with $150,000, but it meant humbling herself to get it.

Henson understands some people might think $150,000 is a lot of money, and she wants to be clear she’s not ungrateful. However, she explained that after taxes and paying her team, the actual amount she’s left with is significantly less. First, the government takes about 50%, leaving $75,000. Then, she has to pay her team 30% of the original amount before taxes, which comes off the $75,000. She estimates this leaves her with around $40,000.

Cate Blanchett has earned a substantial income throughout her career, but her role as the elf Galadriel in the highly successful The Lord of the Rings films – which made $2.9 billion worldwide – wasn’t her sole source of income.

When Andy Cohen suggested on Watch What Happens Live in August 2024 that The Lord of the Rings was her most lucrative role, she jokingly replied, “No, absolutely not!” She explained that the cast didn’t receive substantial paychecks for the film—she essentially earned free sandwiches and got to keep her prosthetic ears.

Orlando Bloom, known for his role as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, revealed on The Howard Stern Show in 2023 that he earned only $175,000 for all three films – a surprisingly small amount.

Hopefully he also got to keep his ears.

2026-04-29 19:52

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