'Captain Phillips' Breakout Barkhad Abdi Living Off Per Diems (Report)

The best supporting actor Oscar nominee was only paid $65,000 for his role in the Sony film, which he shot more than two years ago, and many of his clothes for the awards circuit were rented.

He may be famous, but he's not rich.

Barkhad Abdi rocketed to stardom with his Oscar-nominated role in Captain Phillips, but he's not exactly rolling in dough. In fact, it seems the actor -- who also received a SAG, Golden Globe and BAFTA nomination for his performance -- is barely making ends meet, according to a recent piece in The New Yorker.

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The best supporting actor nominee earned just $65,000 for his role in the $55 million Sony film, which he shot more than two years ago. Before doing Captain Phillips, he worked for a limousine company that his brother ran. After he wrapped the film, he went back to Minneapolis and started working for his brother again, but this time he was working in a store selling mobile phones.

Still, Abdi quit his job the day of Captain Phillips' premiere.

"How I thought about it was like, 'When the movie came out reviews either gonna be good or bad. Either way, I cannot be working here,'" Abdi told The New Yorker about his decision-making process.

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Abdi, who told The Hollywood Reporter before the Oscars that he's planning to move to Los Angeles, had been subsisting on a per diem when he was promoting the film in Hollywood. The per diem's good at the Beverly Hilton, where Sony had been putting him up. In the weeks leading up to the Oscars, he was attending events in a town car, which is only available for official publicity events. A friend, a Somali cabdriver from Minneapolis, has been driving him around for free. His clothes for many awards events were loaners.

THR previously reported exclusively that Abdi is in talks to star in The Place That Hits the Sun, which follows famous South African marathoner Willie Mtolo, who competed in the 1992 New York Marathon.

A rep for Abdi has not yet responded to THR's request for comment.