Peter Shinkoda, who starred in Netflix's Daredevil as crime boss Nobu Yoshioka, broke down on Twitter exactly how absurdly low his pay was in the Marvel series.
The Japanese-Canadian actor, who starred in nine episodes over two seasons of the series, tweeted, "When I was offered [Daredevil] at $3,500/per ep as a local hire - I did the math. So I take $1,600 and change after commission and taxes...per ep. Some eps I worked 8 days on = $200/day. Less than extras!" He continued, stating that casting directors had told him there wasn't any money in the acting. To his surprise, he was also told that he would make more on the convention circuit.
"Take the money where you can get it," a fan responded to Shinkoda's tweet. The actor reacted with confusion and clarified further that he paid for his own work permit, travel, room and board while working on Daredevil. Shinkoda also explained how the difference in treatment between himself and his costars was clear. "Huh? I paid $5,500 for fast track work permit," he said. "Paid my room & board. Payed for my travel there. Crippled and walking to subway on Sunday morning after wrap trying to find an open subway as Escalades drive by with Elektra, Matt, Punisher, & Stick. Just fought them all on a rooftop!"
Another fan responded to Shinkoda's tweets, perturbed by his account of mistreatment and unequal pay. "What was your agent doing? How is that even a union rate?" Shinkoda responded by explaining that his agents worked hard to rectify the abysmal pay rate and were shot down. "They were told, 'We're overpaying with this rate! Scale for new media is much less.' I made ten times more on Falling Skies... per ep," Shinkoda revealed. "That aired on Sunday nights in summertime in...some countries." Shinkoda starred as Dai in TNT's 2011 science fiction series Falling Skies.
Later, Shinkoda tweeted how he has some good stories from showbusiness too, specifically when he worked in editing and postproduction at Warner Bros. Pictures from 1996 to 1999, and how he only faced hardships like this when he transitioned to acting. "Shit got bad when I segued 2 acting...while being Asian."
Daredevil stars Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Royce Johnson and Geoffrey Cantor. Seasons 1-3 are now streaming on Netflix.
Source: Twitter