The Punisher star Jon Bernthal literally smacked the face of Jonah Hill in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street that the comedian actor broke his teeth. While many performers go to extreme lengths to make a scene look compelling, this one in particular almost left Hill unconscious.
The 22 Jump Street actor was so determined to star in a Martin Scorsese movie that he accepted a low pay just to become a part of the project. His admiration for the filmmaker and his passion for the movie were enough to satisfy Hill’s artistic desires.
Jon Bernthal Was Willing To Get Slapped By Jonah Hill After Intense Scene In Martin Scorsese’s Movie
During his appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Jonah Hill revealed he was only paid $60,000 for his role in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street (via THR).
“They gave me the lowest amount of money possible. That was their offer. I said I will sign the papers tonight, fax me the papers tonight. I want to sign them tonight before they change their mind.”
He noted that The Wolf of Wall Street was not a project one does for money. Hill’s paycheck from 22 Jump Street was enough to cover for his rent. He further added:
“I would sell my house and give [Scorsese] all my money to work for him. I would have done anything in the world. I would do it again in a second.”
On top of that low salary, Hill also endured a punch from Jon Bernthal. In one of the scenes, the Punisher actor had to hit Hill in the face, but the first few takes did not look convincing at all. Scorsese told Bernthal to smack Hill for real. The actor explained via The Howard Stern Show:
“I said to Jonah before we started, ‘It’s a Martin Scorsese movie, man. I’mma slap you.’ First, it wasn’t a punch, it was a slap. ‘Just let me slap you, and as soon as the scene’s over, slap me back, off-camera. You can smack the sh-t out of me. I think we should do it for real. It’s f—king Scorsese.’”
Bernthal revealed Hill was not totally into the idea, but Leonardo DiCaprio stepped in and suggested they should do it for real. In the end, Hill agreed to be punched in the face.
Jonah Hill Wished Leonardo DiCaprio Saved Him From Getting Smacked
Jonah Hill’s desire to please Martin Scorsese forced him to say yes to the punching scene even if it was against his will. He told ABC News:
“He’s supposed to pull a gun on me, and then he’s supposed to punch me in the face, and we’re shooting it, and we do a couple takes… Scorsese’s going, ‘Well, I don’t know. It doesn’t look good. Doesn’t look good,’ then he turns to me, and he goes, ‘Hey kid, you want to try one more [where] he hits you for real?’”
Hill wanted DiCaprio to save him from that heavy confrontation, but the Titanic actor wanted the best for the movie. The Superbad actor had no other choice but to comply. He continued:
“I turned to Leo because I’m never going to say no to Martin Scorsese, and I’m looking at him like, ‘Please help,’ and then he just slowly looks away in the other direction, leaving me hung out to dry basically… I go, ‘OK, alright, cool, alright, let’s do this.’”
Hill would definitely do anything to make sure his performance in a Scorsese movie would not be put to waste. Indeed, he took home the Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars for his role as Donnie Azoff.
