Hollywood Q&A

Q: I just finished watching HBO’s “Chernobyl” series, and I’m wondering why I recognize the actor who played Boris, the Soviet bureaucrat at the center of the show.

A: You recognize him because he’s Stellan Skarsgård, Hollywood’s favorite pan-European.

He’s Ukrainian in HBO’s hit historical drama “Chernobyl,” but he was a Russian in 2016’s “Our Kind of Traitor” and 1990’s “The Hunt for Red October,” a Norwegian in the first two Thor movies and the second Avengers movie, a historical Anglo Saxon in 2004’s “King Arthur” and a Swede in the two Mamma Mia movies (2008 and 2018).

He also played undefined Eurotypes in 1997’s “Good Will Hunting” and a couple of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (2006 and 2007).

In reality, Skarsgård is Swedish, and he actually splits his time between doing American films and Scandinavian ones. His sweet spot is the work of Danish art-house director Lars Von Trier — he’s done a number of his films, which are generally popular in Europe and North America (among film nerds, at least).

Q: How much are the participants in “90 Day Fiance” and “Married at First Sight” paid?

A: Reports differ a little, but they all amount to the same thing: not as much as you’d think.

These are two pretty surreal reality shows. TLC’s “90 Day Fiance” follows Americans planning to marry foreign citizens as they meet their fiances and, as per the U.S. visa process, must decide within 90 days whether to go ahead with the marriage. “Married at First Sight” is similar — this Lifetime series follows strangers who are matched by relationship experts, get married when they meet, and then have a few weeks to decide whether to stay married or get divorced.

The appeal of the shows, generally, is that these are normal people with normal lives but are doing this one really incredible/bizarre thing. And this aspect is key to the salary structure. Because these people are leading their regular lives, the compensation for being on the show is seen as a stipend, to supplement the salary they get from their regular jobs. That means, of course, it’s meager.

“Married at First Sight” producer Chris Coelen told RealityBlurred.com that cast members receive “a nothing stipend. We did not want people who were motivated by the wrong things.”

There are differing accounts of exactly how much “nothing” means in this case, but it hovers somewhere around $1,500 per episode.

That roughly matches what the “90 Day Fiance” cast reportedly gets paid — at least the American members. As for the ones coming into the U.S., an unnamed source told the gossip site RadarOnline. com that they don’t get paid at all. “They can’t even get paid because they have to wait for a work permit. It’s of course different if filming takes place in their country.”

What’s more, this level of pay is relatively common for the reality shows that aren’t celebrity-based.

That’s why you often see reality stars hustling for other sources of income — endorsements, appearances and so on. Some of the “90 Day Fiance” stars got even more unconventional — many of them have turned to simply asking for help via social media services like GoFundMe.

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