Ice-T reportedly collected $25,000 from his role in New Jack City a full 25 years ago, in 1991.
The film itself grossed $7 million its opening weekend but the rapper was paid far less for his turn in the film, as Detective Sonny Appleton.
Ice-T told Okayplayer about learning his first lesson in Hollywood, and how he wasn’t paid his dues for the role considering how much the movie grossed overall. “I got paid scale, so for 'New Jack City' I made about $25,000 for the whole movie. The movie made $67 million, but by now, it’s probably closer to $80 million bucks. That was my first lesson in Hollywood. How could I negotiate? I was never in a film."
In the interview, the rapper also expressed his hesitation of taking the role of a detective, as his rap career was on the verge of taking off. His album Original Gangster was slated for release around the time he took the role and the song “New Jack Hustler” ended up being showcased on that album.
“I was still kind of shocked,” he said to Okayplayer. “I got down there and they basically offered me the part to play Scotty in the movie, and you know, it was a cop. Original Gangster was just about to come out because 'New Jack Hustler' ended up being on that album. I was in that mode and was like, ‘Damn man do you really want to take a risk and be in a movie?”
New Jack City also showcased Wesley Snipes in the role of drug kingpin Nino Brown as well as Chris Rock playing crack addict Benny “Pookie" Robinson.
According to Billboard, the rapper is getting paid more for his role as Detective Fin Tutuola on the crime series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, created by Dick Wolf. So it seems that in the end his work in New Jack Hustler allowed Ice-T to fall comfortably into his role as a cop.
