Many people have been shocked to learn the real salary Robin Williams received for his role in 1992's Aladdin. The late actor - who sadly died by suicide in 2014 aged 63 - played the role of Genie in the Disney family movie, a character that has since been portrayed by Will Smith in the live-action remake. Williams' paycheck was significantly lower than what he was used to, however, as it turns out he was paid just $75,000 of the usual $8 million rate he charged. Though, there was a sweet reason why he chose to forgo the big bucks for the role. [[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwEKZbmrcQw]] The father-of-three - who has been part of many childhood favorites, including Mrs. Doubtfire, the Night At The Museum trilogy, and Flubber - revealed that he had accepted the lower paycheck simply because he wanted to be part of the animation tradition and leave something behind for his children. The Good Morning Vietnam actor did, however, have one stipulation - he did not want his voice used as a marketing tool for Disney, per <a href="https://screenrant.com/aladdin-robin-williams-genie-disney-agreement-great-reason/#:~:text=Williams%20joined%20the%20cast%20of,usual%20fee%20of%20%248%20million." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Screen Rant</a>. However, one party (ahem, Disney) did not stick to their end of the bargain and, as such, Williams chose not to return for the 1994 sequel - for that flick, Genie was voiced by Homer Simpsons voice actor Dan Castellaneta. Williams said during an interview following the release of Aladdin that Disney had used his voice to sell merchandise for the movie in advertisements - something he was unhappy with. In a 1996 interview with the <a href="http://www.robin-williams.net/interviews/aladdinking/96-07.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Toronto Sun</a>, Williams said the issue had been over "merchandising tie-ins, the whole thing. I don't mind if they make dolls. It's when they use my voice that it gets interesting." Funnily enough, the production company sent Williams a $1 million Picasso painting as an apology, something Williams told the Toronto Sun strangely came before the violation of the agreement. "The thing is they didn't give me a Picasso as a payback for violating the agreement. The Picasso came first, then they violated the agreement, then we broke off the marriage. Then they apologized, and that was all I wanted. "I wanted them to say, 'We violated the agreement and then we put out a press campaign that made it look as if you were sticking us up for money.' Studios do this all the time, but they just don't cop to it. (He adopts a voice): 'Shhh! You mean lie?' But they did and they admitted it and now we're back," he added. "It was tough for a while. How do you tell the kids, 'Daddy's fighting with Disney, so we won't be going to Orlando for a while? No more plush toys or Hunchback packs or merchandising.'" <img class="wp-image-1263198843 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/03/2K21T09-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" />[[imagecaption|| Williams (pictured in 2006) took issue with Disney using his voice for advertisements. Credit: Cinematic Collection / Alamy]] After the apology, Williams appeared in the third Aladdin movie in 1996. Soon after that was released Williams was interviewed by <a href="http://www.robin-williams.net/interviews/aladdinking/96-08.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TV Guide USA</a> about his role as Genie, with the actor saying: "I went into a room and started improvising, and these guys kept throwing ideas at me. It just got wild. They let me play. That's why I loved it - it was like carte blanche to go nuts. Of course, there were times when I'd go tasteless, when I knew the mouse was not going to approve: 'Oh, come on, boy. Rub the lamp, the big spout. Don't be afraid!'" <h6>Featured image credit: Collection Christophel / Alamy</h6>

Robin Williams was paid $75,000 instead of $8 million for his role in 'Aladdin'

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