While some actors do it for the money, this clearly was not the case for Jonah Hill’s recent Oscar-nominated performance as Donnie Azoff in Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street.  Hill explained during Howard Stern’s talk show this past Tuesday that he wanted the role as an opportunity to work with the renowned Scorsese, and willingly took the SAG minimum as payment for his work in the film.  He was even worried after he landed the role that they would suddenly change their minds and hire someone else for the part.  The first news of Hill’s pay cut came when Stern sent out this Tweet:  “@jonahhill tells @howardstern that he did the 7 month ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ shoot for $60,000 because he wanted the role so bad”.

Hill delivers a dynamic performance as Donnie Azoff, the over-the-top stockbroker and partner in crime to the dynamic stock market manipulator  Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.  Even though Hill jumped at the chance to play the role of Donnie, that doesn’t mean he condones the wealthy, edgy lifestyle he enjoys on-screen.  “I personally take away the message from the film that this behavior, this lifestyle, leads to a very bad ending,” Hill explained at a brunch in Palm Springs, according to Variety.  “I think the movie is not glorifying this behavior, it is showing that it leads to bad places whether their judicial punishment doesn’t reflect that is one thing.”

Hill was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.  “I honestly was not expecting this, on a level you can’t even imagine,” Hill said in a statement regarding the Oscar nomination, according to E-Online.  “Again, I’m clearly in shock.”  Hill was nominated for an Academy Award  for Best Supporting Actor for his 2011 role in Moneyball starring alongside Brad Pitt.  Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese have also received Oscar nods for their work in Wolf of Wall Street, for Best Actor and Best Director, respectively.