James Freeman

Martin Lawrence got $6 million for Bad Boys. Will Smith got $2 million. 25 years later, Will got $17 million for Bad Boys for Life. Martin got a reported $6 million. And here's the part most people don't know: Will only got the role because of Martin. The producers brought the movie to Martin first and told him to pick his co-star. The original Bad Boys were supposed to be Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey. Martin's sister Rae told him to look at "the Fresh Prince." Martin invited Will to his house for dinner. "After five minutes of talking to him, the rest is history, man." Then came Independence Day and Men in Black. By Bad Boys II (2003) they were both on $20 million. By the third movie, the man who picked Will was making about a third of what Will made. In 2020 The Breakfast Club asked Will straight out about the rumor that he made $10 million more than Martin. "Hell no." Then: "We've been talking for four minutes, you don't go to that sh*t four minutes into the damn interview." To be fair to Will, he became the biggest box-office draw on the planet after 1995, and studios pay for who sells tickets. Martin was paid more when he was the bigger star too. But Martin opened the door, and Will walked through it and got the bigger check. Is that just how Hollywood works, or should Will have taken less so they were paid the same?