Interview: Charlie Cox
In a perfect world, theatre would pay as much as movies and actors would be able to do all of the theatre they want as often as they want. Alas, the current world we live in is one where theatre is not the potential money maker for performers that could compare to a hit movie. This proves true even when you have a hit show on Netflix under the banner of MARVEL. Charlie Cox, who plays the superhero Daredevil (aka Matt Murdock) on the Netflix hit show of the same name. His off Broadway show INCOGNITO closed on July 10th, and he explains to New York Daily News that his motivation for this show was love of the theatre, and not a potential financial gain.
Cox reveals that he will probably just about break even after Incognito closes. He explains, "I didn't have the right visa and I really wanted to do the play, so I had to pay a visa adaptation fee, which is basically the same amount as the entire run."
Of course, Cox realizes the reality of Off-Broadway theater - nobody does it to get rich. He says, "You don't do a play to make money. It's Off-Broadway. It's not covering my rent and I'm in a fortunate situation where I'm on a television show and I know that we're doing THE DEFENDERS, which is a spin-off of the show later this year. So I just keep the purse strings tighter during the run of the play."
Cox, who starred in the movie STARDUST and the TV series BROADWALK EMPIRE before landing his Daredevil role, realizes he doesn't have the A-list credentials to demand a large salary from producers. He says, "I'm not a big star so you can't demand those huge paychecks when you sign on. I do fine, no complaints."
Sadly, as he notes even being on a hit show isn't much of a cushion either, "No residuals on Netflix of course so that's ... part of their brilliant business."
Hopefully he continues to be inspired to do theatre while we work on creating the more perfect world of theatre to over more than just the visa fees!
Oh, and if you haven't caught up on the newest season of DAREDEVIL yet then get to www.Netflix.com as soon as you can!
Photo Credit:New York Comic Con
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