This ‘American Pie’ Actor Revealed His Shockingly Low Salary for the Cult Classic Film

American Pie still remains one of the greatest movies of the 1990s, having premiered right at the tail end of the decade in 1999. It’s known mostly for its silly humor and cast members who absolutely nailed their roles. Seann William Scott, who played Steve Stifler in the film, was just one example of an excellent casting, but if you thought he made millions from the role, think again: Stifler recently revealed just how much of a paycheck he took home for his acting, and it’s not at all what you probably thought.

Steve Stifler only made ‘less than $8,000’ for ‘American Pie’

These days, we often hear about movie stars raking in millions of dollars for their big-screen appearances; people like Tom Cruise are often guaranteed upward of $20 million to appear in a film. But such was not the case for Steve Stifler, despite that American Pie is arguably his most recognizable role.

While appearing on The Rich Eisen Show, Scott said that he made a four-figure salary for being one of the main stars of American Pie. “I think so, yeah,” he said when asked if he made no more than four figures. “… Because I remember afterward I bought a used Thunderbird for, like, $5,000 or maybe $6,000, I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, baby.’”

He continued, “I don’t know what happened to the other $2,000 because I ended up having to work at the LA Zoo as a churro guy, so maybe it was even less than $8,000.” Not that there is anything wrong with being a churro guy, but it seems incredible to think that such an iconic film could have paid one of its stars so little money. However, the zoo stint didn’t last too long; Scott said he was employed for only two days.

Seann William Scott got paid much more for the ‘American Pie’ reunion

When it came time for Universal to produce American Reunion, a 2011 sequel with the premise of the cast members reunited for their 10-year high school reunion, Universal paid Scott the big bucks. He made $5 million for the film along with his co-star Jason Biggs. The Hollywood Reporter said that Scott also got a small percentage of the film’s gross profit, too.

Scott has continued acting since the movie franchise wrapped, though he hasn’t had any role become more notable than Steve Stifler. He was in Dude, Where’s My Car? and Role Models in the early 2000s. His most notable television role was as Wesley Cole in Fox’s Lethal Weapon, on which he was a cast member from 2018-2019. He has continued acting, though it remains unclear if there will ever be another addition to the American Pie franchise — perhaps a 25-year reunion? These days, Scott lives a fairly private life with his wife, Olivia Korenberg, whom he married back in 2019.