Omari Hardwick gets candid about owing 50 Cent money and how much he made per episode on Power.
Omari Hardwick, who appeared as James “Ghost” St. Patrick in 50 Cent‘s co-produced Power Series, did not have it all comfy and easy as he details his struggles off the screen while Power became one of the biggest television shows and even raised the film profile of rapper 50 Cent.
In a new interview, Hardwick disclosed that despite being the protagonist of Power, he had to borrow cash from 50 Cent twice while revealing the meager earnings he initially got at the start of the show.
While speaking on The Pivot podcast, the actor spoke about his acting career, noting that he didn’t feel successful until he joined Power. When asked about his financial standing, the actor said he’s still made that much money as he felt he should have.
“I still haven’t made what I should have made. I still never made the money—no, the money, I never made what I should have made. Never,” Harwick began. “Period. It’s happening now, finally.”
Omari Hardwick began acting in 2003 and has landed several projects in his early career. Still, he joked that he barely made much money within the decades he was in the business, and only after starring in Power did he begin to feel successful like “he made it” finally.
Hardwick spent six seasons on Power before his character was killed off. However, it was not always honky dory, and he even had to borrow money from 50 Cent to take care of his family during the first and second seasons.
“He gave me $20,000 and the next summer he gave me $23,000,” he said as he joked about the rapper looking out for his children and wife, Jennifer Hardwick.
“He might like them more than me. It was absolutely given in a way of, like, you know take care of the family bro, use that,” he said.
The rapper, however, noted that he is now financially stable as he disclosed it was important for him to repay 50 Cent.
“I think he forever just really really respects the sh*t out of me for that, we just not taught that in our community,” Omari shared. “Barely do we pay anybody back,” he says as he asks the hosts about their own successful careers and people approaching them for help.
He added, “So once we’re hit up for money, and I am financially obviously stable at this point, once we’re hit up for money we don’t expect it back. … So for me to give it back to 50 with interest, I was just so proud to be able to do that. And it was early! He felt like, ‘Damn, you can’t be messed up, you need money!'”
The actor, however, noted that even at the stage where the show was highly successful and even brought back life to the fledgling Starz network, he was not paid the salary he wanted.
“How much do you think I made a week? An episode,” he asked the hosts, with one guessing $150,000 per episode. “You got it right, yeah,” he replied. “First time I’ve ever disclosed it.”
Still, the actor said he was grateful for the opportunity as his career has since progressed to bigger blockbuster movies like Sorry to Bother You, Army of the Dead, and Nobody’s Fool.
He’s also set to appear in the forthcoming animated Army of the Dead spinoff Lost Vegas.
50 Cent hasn’t responded to Hardwick’s comments, but a 2019 report from Forbes Magazine said he made around $300 million in two years.
This number, however, vastly differs from another figure shared by the rapper in 2015 as he filed for bankruptcy after a lawsuit was awarded against him in favor of Rick Ross’ ex-girlfriend. A Business Insider report said the rapper had gotten a TV executive producer’s salary of $146,538 per episode. Another report, however, suggested that 50 Cent may have made between $150,000 to $1 million per episode.
The actual figure has never been confirmed, however.
