Rebel Wilson is known for playing the funny, Australian girl. Known for her iconic roles in Pitch Perfect, How To Be Single and Bachelorette, the actress quickly made a name for herself after appearing on our screens in 2011 for Bridesmaids.
In a recent podcast interview with Brittany Hockley and Laura Byrne on Life Uncut, Rebel spoke about everything from body image to making it in Hollywood. Of course, the girls had to ask her about her role in the iconic flick, Bridesmaids, which was responsible for kickstarting her career. Playing the role of Kristen Wiig’s bizarre roommate, Rebel had everyone in stitches with her quick-witted remarks.
While she’s undoubtedly successful now, the actress revealed that she initially struggled with getting an agent and being casted. “I wasn’t a beach babe,” she said, describing the difficulty she faced getting work in Australia. Following this, she decided to make the big leap to the United States, describing it as “her big chance” to carve out her career. She sold all of her possessions, packed up her life and left to pursue her dreams of starring in Hollywood movies.
Luckily for Rebel, her role in Bridesmaids came just three months after she arrived in the US, but at the time, she had no idea just how big it would become. “The problem is, the cast was so amazing and I had four scenes in the movie, and I was like ‘is four scenes enough?'” She recalled that Jonah Hill only had one scene in The Forty-Year Old Virgin, and saw his career skyrocket as a result, so Rebel was hopeful that her fate would be the same, saying that she thought she might have made “a little splash” with her few on-screen appearances.
Rebel then revealed that she initially auditioned for the role of Megan, but was unsuccessful. Melissa McCarthy would go on to play the role, but the casting directors decided to still give Rebel a part, albeit a smaller one.
“I had to wait essentially a year until the movie came out and I had no money. I was living on $60 a week for my food and entertainment. I’d see one movie a week at the cinemas and would use the rest on food, because that’s all I had budgeted for. I earned $3500 on Bridesmaids, and that’s what I had to pay the union to join the union in America. So I earned nothing.”
Brittany was quick to point out her shock at Rebel’s low salary, remarking that many others would likely be shocked as well.
“It’s crazy isn’t it,” Laura replied, before adding “but that was the platform, that was the kickstart, and then next up was Pitch Perfect.”
“Pitch Perfect was one of the movies I booked off the back of Bridesmaids, and I booked six movies off the back of that,” Rebel explained.
So, was it worth it? Undoubtedly. While her paycheck might not have made it rain back in 2011, it’s certainly paid off now with Rebel achieving international recognition and acclaim. It just goes to show that sometimes the little things really do count the most.
