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Barkhad Abdi, actor in 'Captain Phillips,' is broke

"Captain Phillips" actor Barkhad Abdi wears borrowed clothes while in Los Angeles doing promotions on film because he's broke.

By DANIELLE HAYNES, UPI.com
Actor Barkhad Abdi attends the 86th annual Academy Awards nominees luncheon in Beverly Hills, California on February 10, 2014. UPI/Jim Ruymen
Actor Barkhad Abdi attends the 86th annual Academy Awards nominees luncheon in Beverly Hills, California on February 10, 2014. UPI/Jim Ruymen | License Photo

LOS ANGELES, March 2 (UPI) -- BAFTA-winning actor Barkhad Abdi told the New Yorker he's now broke after making $65,000 for his role in "Captain Phillips" two years ago.

The Oscar-nominated film was Abdi's first film role. He had been living in Minneapolis after immigrating there from war-torn Somalia and saw an open call for actors to play Somali pirates in the Tom Hanks flick.

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After filming was over, he got a job at his brother's mobile phone store in Minneapolis, where he quit right before "Captain Phillips" came out.

“How I thought about it was, like, When the movie came out, reviews either gonna be good or bad,” he said. “Either way, I cannot be working here.”

While in Los Angeles promoting the film, the studio puts him up at the Beverly Hilton, he has borrowed clothes and a town car is made available to him for official publicity events.

[New Yorker] [The Wrap]

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