Steve Zahn may have landed a role in Gen X legendary movie Reality Bites, but the 1994 cult classic apparently didn’t do much for his bank account — at least not at first.
While reflecting on his early career, Zahn told Jesse Tyler Ferguson that he was thrilled and nervous to be part of the Ben Stiller-directed film, but the reality of making it was far less glamorous than he expected. In fact, when he returned home from the movie, Zahn said he realized he was actually “poorer” than when he left.
The actor also revealed just how little recognition he received in those early days — a fitting anecdote from someone who still occasionally trades Hollywood for a much more ordinary gig at his son’s Kentucky coffee shop.
“But Reality Bites was… I was so thrilled,” he said on the Dinner’s On Me Podcast. “I was so nervous. I was just, you know, shook.”
The film may have become a cult classic, but Zahn said he didn’t feel the magic during filming; instead, he was just happy to be in the movie. Zahn played Sammy Gray, one of the bonded friends who was often the neutral force and worked up the nerve to tell his parents he was gay.
Despite getting the work and starring opposite Gen X stars Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, and Janeane Garofalo, Zahn said he left in worse financial shape.
“I remember coming back from Reality Bites and going, I am poorer than when I left'” he recounted. “‘Cause I got to LA and I’m like, ‘I’m in a movie. Oh, wait, you want a drink?’ Like, ‘I am poorer.’ ‘I’m gonna go buy some cassettes.” You know what I mean? And I was baffled with that whole thing. And it wasn’t like, you know, ‘Do people recognize me?’ No. You don’t get recognized till your, like, 10th gig, and that’s even like…”
Even though Reality Bites took on a cult following, it wasn’t a box office smash. And Zahn, who ultimately became a recognizable name in Hollywood, clearly hasn’t forgotten those salad days, sharing that he will wash dishes from time to time at his son’s coffee shop.
“It’s called Serendipity Public House, and it’s awesome,” he marveled. “I go there, and I barback. I just wash dishes. Like, he’ll say, like, ‘Hey, we’re slammed. Can you come over?’ And it’s, like, 10 minutes.”
Of course, he’s recognized when he’s there, but there’s a catch. “And people, I know people are in there, and they go, they go, ‘Wha?-‘ But I’m busy; I can’t talk. I’m busy Yeah. Like, a barback’s a hard job.”
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