Octavia Spencer Paid for 'Ma' Co-Star Gianni Paolo's Publicist When He Was In Debt
Octavia Spencer is just as sweet as you’d expect in real life!
The 55-year-old actress’ Ma co-star Gianni Paolo recently opened up about a time that she helped him out when he was debt before the movie came out.
While appearing on Harry Jowsey‘s Boyfriend Material podcast, Gianni revealed she paid for his publicist and set him up with the team she uses before they started press for the movie, which came out in 2019.
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“I didn’t have any money for a publicist because at this time, this was pre-Ma-coming-out and I was like, I just can’t spend $5,000 a month for a publicist,” he recalled. “I only made $6,000 on the movie. I’m in $20,000 worth of credit card debt. So, I’m like, I’m just not going to get a publicist.”
Prior to starting the movie’s press tour, Gianni shared that Octavia invited the cast over to her house for dinner.
“She was talking about doing press for the movie and this was my first real big thing. So, I didn’t know anything,” Gianni said. “And she basically was like, we’re going to do press [get a] publicist. And I told her, I don’t have the money to do that. I’m not going to get a publicist.”
The dinner took place on Friday night, and by Monday, he dished that it was handled by her.
“She had called her publicist, paid for it completely, and then set me up with her whole team,” he revealed. “And then [she] said, ‘Now you have a publicist.’ She didn’t ask for the money back. Never.”
While she may not have asked to be repaid, Gianni says he made sure to repay her after filming the first episode of Power Book II: Ghost, which came out the year after Ma.
If you missed it, it was recently revealed that Octavia will return for a Ma sequel. Gianni‘s return is currently unknown.
Power Book II: Ghost may have come to an end, but Gianni will next be seen on the big screen once again in the new movie Trust, which will be released on August 22nd!