Alec Guinness's Star Wars Deal

In 1977, Alec Guinness chose a percentage deal instead of a flat fee for playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars films, taking 0.45% of all gross profit rather than a standard paycheck. People in the industry considered the move foolhardy at the time, but the franchise's massive success turned that sliver into a fortune that continued to pay royalties to his family for at least 20 years after he died in 2000.

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