David Krumholtz isn’t having a happy holiday season because of the holdover from “Santa Claus.”
At the May 26th press day for Are You Now or Have You Ever Been, he explained to Page Six that “the residuals are minimal because the movie has so many views.” “This is how residuals work. Every time you play, you get less income. It’s a grade scale.”
The actor played elf-headed Bernard in the highly successful 1994 holiday film and its 2002 sequel. Although he did not return for the third film, which was released in 2006, he did appear in the 2022 Disney+ series.
Krumholtz, 48, recalls being “good” when he first received the residuals from the Tim Allen-starring Christmas movie, but estimates he now makes “$150 a year” from the series.
The New York City-born star has had a long career in films like “10 Things I Hate About You” and the “Harold & Kumar” series, as well as shows like “Numb3rs,” but estimates that his current biggest paycheck comes from his recent appearance in the 2023 blockbuster “Oppenheimer.”
When Page Six cheekily asked for the number, Krumholtz jokingly replied, “That’s none of your business! What kind of question is that?” Then he admitted, “It’s $12.73. That’s enough money to buy a hot dog in New York.”
Krumholtz will soon appear in the central New York revival of “Supergirl” and “Are You Now or Have You Ever Been,” which uses original recordings of celebrities forced to appear at House Un-American Activities Committee hearings in the 1940s.
During these hearings, the artists were subjected to heated arguments and pressured to admit their affiliation with the Communist Party and name other party members.
Krumholtz will play comedy writer Abe Burrows, the writer of Guys and Dolls and the father of famed television director James Burrows. Prime Minister Abe died in 1985 at the age of 74.
Krumholz said Prime Minister Abe had named the names “with great enthusiasm,” noting that “these people are just trying to survive.”
“That was essentially cancel culture back then, and if someone today tried to cancel me for what I felt were unwarranted reasons, I would do anything to get out of it,” he reasoned. “I love acting and I love my career. That’s what I need.”
Krumholtz said he was “not blaming” Abe, but explained, “Abe didn’t do a very good job of making his desire to get out of the hole opaque. He was very clearly desperate and wondering if there was something wrong with him.”
He added that Prime Minister Abe “deflected everything with laughter, but it wasn’t funny.”
