Hilary Swank Revealed How Much Money She Made From "Boys Don't Cry" And This Is Not What I Was Expecting At All

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It's impossible to think of Hilary Swank without Boys Don't Cry coming to mind.

closeup of Hilary smiling
Tommaso Boddi / FilmMagic

It was Hilary's breakout role, scoring her her first Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

  Frank Trapper / Corbis via Getty Images
Frank Trapper / Corbis via Getty Images

Some would naturally assume that Hilary was paid big bucks for the movie, but nope! In fact, she says that what she made wasn't even enough to get health insurance.

closeup of Hilary talking into a mic
David M. Benett / Dave Benett / Getty Images

“I made three thousand dollars, and in order to even have health insurance you needed five thousand," Hilary said during a recent appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, "which, I didn’t know any of this."

  Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images
Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images

She said she only found out the truth when she tried to seek medical care.

closeup of Hilary holding a mic
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“I just went in after I filmed the movie, and, when I had a simple cold, I went in and got an antibiotic or something and they’re like, ‘That’s two-hundred and sixty dollars,’" Hilary recalled. "I’m like, ‘No, wait I have insurance. Can you check?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, you have to call your insurance company.’"

Hilary holding a small award with a moose on it
John Parra / Getty Images for for The Hollywood Reporter

She continued: "I called them, they’re like, ‘Yeah you don’t have insurance. You need to make five thousand dollars a year to have health insurance.' But then that same year I had an Academy Award but didn’t have health insurance."

closeup of Hilary
Matthew Simmons / Getty Images

Oh, wow. Well, hopefully, that's squared away now.