Former" Mad TV" Stars Reveal How Little They Made Per Episode and Name Their Biggest Career Disappointments
20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection Mad TValumni Aries Spears, Mo Collins, Bobby Lee and Debra Wilson reunited on Lee's podcastTigerBelly The quartet discussed their post-Mad TVcareers and disappointments The conversation also led them to reveal how much money they made during the series, and which of them earned more Some of the stars ofMad TVare looking back at their long careers and the twists and turns they've taken since they've left the show. Former castmates Aries Spears, Mo Collins and Debra Wilson appeared on the May 1TigerBellypodcast hosted byMad TValumnus Bobby Lee alongside his best friend Khalyla. During the wide-ranging chat, the foursome talked about some of their career disappointments. Collins, 59, was aMad TVcast member from 1998 to 2004, and though she's worked regularly since, she said she had to "accept" the "journey" she's on. "I doesn't mean I stopped doing and being, and having the talent that I have, but there's a certain level of acceptance after f------ decades, you know?" she said. "You have to just go, this is my journey. This is what my journey's gonna be, not what I thought it was gonna be." Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection Wilson, 63, who appeared on the show's first eight seasons, from 1995 to 2003, said that though she also hasn't found superstardom, she's "happier than a motherf----- in a mansion." Wilson's career has included widespread work as a voice actress in TV shows and video games. But Spears, 50, has not been as zen. "I want to be the motherf----- with the mansion," he said. "It's just always been my dream since I was a kid that I want be that dude. I want be as big as Kevin Hart." Spears was onMad TVfrom 1997 to 2005, making him the show's second-longest tenured cast member. Wilson told Spears that he'll "never be satisfied" if he keeps chasing money and success. Even if he finds that fame, she said, "some other motherf-----" will eventually surpass him, she added. She told him he's "bankrupt" inside and he needs to focus on being a "good man." Lee, 53, shared his own career disappointments. The actor, who was onMad TVfrom 2001 to 2009, said that he tried to audition forThe Hangover,The InterviewandCrazy Rich Asians, and the producers didn't even want to see him. Then, he said of his friends who have done big movies or are series regulars on TV shows, "No one knows their name. They don't make any money. They make less than what we made onMad, which was the lowest that you can make." Tessa Viles/FOX Collins then asked Lee what he made on the show. "In the beginning? Yeah. $4,000 an episode," he said, and the others confirmed that they made the same. Collins asked him where his salary ended up by his final season, but he asked her to answer first. She shared by the end of her tenure, she was making $15,000 an episode. Lee said he ended up at $20,000 an episode. "F--- my life!" Collins joked. Wilson and Spears were also surprised he ended up at $20,000, each revealing they also topped out at $15,000. "I don't know why, my agents just did it. I didn't ask for it," Lee said. Collins joked, "Really? You didn't have to try? What's it like, to not have to try?" Lee added that it was only his seventh and eighth year, after the others had all left the series, that he made that much. Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. "I know, and I haven't seen that much money since," Collins said, noting how salaries across the industry have gone "way down." Spears added that he's not "sitting back" waiting for his next opportunity. "I'm putting some s--- together myself," he said. Mad TVran for 14 seasons from 1995 to 2009. Other famous alumni from the series includeAlex Borstein,Taran Killam,Ike Barinholtz,Jordan PeeleandKeegan-Michael Key. Read the original article onPeople
