Michael Evans Behling currently stars in the critically acclaimed CW drama All American (the series currently enjoys a 96 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes) as high school quarterback Jordan Baker. This marks the first major role for the relative newcomer who had only appeared briefly in Empire prior to getting cast.
And as the show approaches its fourth season, fans can’t help but be curious about how much Behling is paid per episode.
He Booked The Part After Being In The ‘Right Place At The Right Time’
When Behling came to Los Angeles in 2018, he immersed himself in classes. But then, an opportunity to do a show came up and he couldn’t ignore it. While speaking with Schön!, Behling revealed that he just “found myself in the right place at the right time when I auditioned for the role of Jordan.” According to his agency, The Hellen Wells Agency, the newcomer scored his pilot casting after just being in LA for eight weeks.
From the beginning, the character was someone that Behling could readily understand. “At age fourteen, I did begin to struggle with identity and finding my place,” the actor told Euphoria. “Jordan and I both started to notice the differences in our life and that things aren’t always cut and dry. Luckily, I think we’ve both come to terms with it and embrace it.”
His Character Got Darker As The Show Progressed, Presenting Its Own Challenges
Over the course of the show, Behling got a chance to explore a darker side of his character. And while he could relate to Jordan, Behling was challenged by some aspects of the character. “The fact that he is such a guy who is a hot head and I, myself, don’t like to get mad. I don’t get mad at really anything,” the actor told Starry Mag. “I kind of like to keep myself poised and level. Granted, he’s a seventeen-year-old kid, but if something happens, he’s immature in that sense.”
During the show’s third season, producers and writers also presented Jordan with his greatest challenge yet – getting injured and sidelined from the game as a result. This is what happens in the real world, after all. “We wanted to tackle this because it is a reality in sports, especially in high school athletes and the very high-pressured nature of student athletics,” showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll told Entertainment Weekly. “Jordan's going to have to sit with this one for a while. Football has been everything to him.” She added, “To have that ripped away from him before he's ready has repercussions.”
That said, Jordan’s story isn’t really one isn’t all about “taking him down this dark tunnel.” “It's going to be what we always do, which is, 'How does this nonconventional group of friends that are like family rally around each other when they really need each other?'” Carroll explained.
Despite all the football drama on and off the field though, Behling insists that the show is nothing like popular football drama, Friday Night Lights. Aside from being inspired by the life of former NFL player Spencer Paysinger, All American is also shot differently, which Behling personally appreciates. “It looks like real football,” he told HollywoodLife. “Me, being a football player, coming from a football background and watching this, I’m like, ‘All right. I can believe that.’ Whereas, some other shows, I’m like, ‘I don’t believe it as much.’ This one, I’m like, ‘I can get behind this. I can get behind this.”
How Much Does He Get Paid For His All American Role?
At the moment, no salary figures have been released for the cast of the show. That said, Behling’s net worth is estimated to be between $500,000 to $1 million and it’s safe to say these figures comprise mostly of his earnings from All American.
When it comes to CW series, salary rates vary widely, depending on the show. For instance, Variety reported in 2018 that the main stars of Riverdale are paid $40,000 per episode. On the other hand, Stephen Amell receives an estimated $125,000 for the DC series Arrow while Grant Gustin reportedly gets paid $100,000 per episode for portraying the titular character in The Flash.
In the case of All American, it’s possible that much of the cast were paid relatively lower rates in the beginning since a lot of them are relatively unknown actors (although CW would likely pay a lot more to veteran actors Monet Mazur and Taye Diggs who was reportedly paid between $100,000 to $125,000 per episode on ABC’s Private Practice). As for Behling himself, it’s likely he started out with a relatively low pay but has since gotten a significant increase after the show was given a renewal.
Fans can look forward to seeing Behling again when he joins the rest of the cast for the fourth season of All American. The new season is scheduled to debut on October 25. Meanwhile, the first three seasons of All American are available for streaming on The CW and Netflix.
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