Jesse Eisenberg admits he once thought Hollywood actors were 'overpaid': Here's why

Jesse Eisenberg revealed that he used to think acting was not a real job and that actors are overpaid.

During a recent chat at the San Sebastian Film Festival, the 42-year-old actor admitted to not having a good opinion of acting job, as he thought actors were "vain” and do noting at movie sets.

The two-time Academy Award winner said, "I used to have this negative opinion about acting because I was an actor and I just thought, ‘This is just such a ridiculous job.

"They pay us too much. We’re vain."

Eisenberg explained, "We want to look pretty in the morning, we want to stay in the nicest places, and we want to not ever lift anything on movie sets, and then we want all the credit for the movie!

"I was always like, ‘This is a weird job, and it’s not fair.’ And then on my first movie, I saw Julianne Moore rehearsing for a scene."

However, one encounter with his costar Julianne Moore changed his perspective.

On the set of the upcoming movie The Debut, Eisenberg found her in a vulnerable state while she was pushing herself to prepare for a scene.

Eisenberg, who also wrote, directed and co-produced the film, recalled, "She was going through a real, deep emotional process to get ready for the scene. I remember looking at it, and I go, ‘Oh, wait a second, that’s really hard.’ Like we’re all out here joking, and I’m having a donut, and she’s in there suffering."

This moment transformed Eisenberg's negative opinion on acting.

He continued, "I realised, ‘Oh, maybe acting is actually a really valuable thing. Maybe difficult. Maybe it’s challenging. Maybe it takes a lot. And suddenly, in [one] moment, my entire opinion on acting changed because I saw somebody else doing it, and it wasn’t just about me."

Jesse Eisenberg's directed film, The Debut, is all set to hit theaters in United States in December 2026.