NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: ‘Will & Grace’ star Sean Hayes, who played the flamboyant Jack McFarland and Eric McCormack, who portrayed the namesake gay lawyer Will, attended the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City earlier this week for a live recording of their new podcast, ‘Just Jack & Will'.
Hayes revealed that during the early days of filming the popular late 90s sitcom, he was forced to sell a Porsche he received as a gift in order to afford his apartment's rent. The actor recalled how NBC Entertainment's then-President Scott Sassa bought him and McCormack a Porsche each after the first season of ‘Will & Grace’ became extremely successful but he had to eventually sell it. While the stars had a mercurial rise to fame, their bank accounts initially struggled to keep up the pace.
‘I could drive a car or live in an apartment’
Speaking about the early days of fame in the wake of ‘Will & Grace', McCormack said, “In the summer, people were finally checking out the show, and our ratings kept going up and up and up. And I think they realized they had a hit on their hands.” He added that Sassa took the men out for lunch one day and walked through a parking lot to present “Porsches with ribbons on them.”
“Scott went, ‘Anyway, we just want to say thank you,’” McCormack remembered, as per People. “Sean leaned over to me — I don’t make this up — and said, ‘Is it expensive to insure a Porsche? ‘Cause I literally can’t pay rent right now’,” he added, recalling Haynes’ first reaction to the gift. “And I said, ‘It’s not that expensive when the Porsche is free! It amortizes."
However, Hayes said he sold the car “right away” just to be safe. “I was like, ‘Well, I could drive a car or live in an apartment and pay my rent,’” the actor quipped. McCormack said six weeks after they received their Porsches, he saw Hayes driving his old Camry instead of the brand-new German car. When the ‘Slasher’ star asked why, the latter simply replied, “I like my Camry.”
What is Sean Hayes' net worth?
Though he had to sell his first luxury car, it is safe to say Hayes has done well for himself in the decades since. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the actor and comedian has an approximate net worth of $20 million dollars. The majority of his earnings come from his roles in TV shows and films, especially from his work in ‘Will & Grace'.
Hayes played Jack McFarland on the hit NBC sitcom from 1998 to 2006 and reprised his role on the NBC revival of the show from 2017 to 2020. During his time at the original run of ‘Will and Grace', Hayes also appeared in episodes of ‘Scrubs', ‘Tom Goes to the Mayor', and ‘Lovespring International'. He even hosted an episode of ‘Saturday Night Live'. Hayes played the role of comedian Jerry Lewis in the 2002 TV film ‘Martin and Lewis', earning a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.
The actor continued with guest appearances in shows like ‘Campus Ladies’ and ‘30 Rock' in the latter half of the 2000s. In 2014, he bagged a recurring role in 11 episodes of ‘The Millers’ while also appearing in several other TV movies and shows. Meanwhile, he also established a successful film career, starring in projects like ‘Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss', ‘Pieces of April', ‘The Cat in the Hat', ‘The Bucket List', ‘Soul Men', and ‘Win a Date with Ted Hamilton!’ among others.
Hayes also garnered a considerable fortune after founding his company Hazy Mills Productions with his friend and former classmate Todd Milliner in 2004. He served as the executive producer of the TV Land original comedy series ‘Hot in Cleveland', NBC’s ‘Grimm', Jane Lynch’s ‘Hollywood Game Night’ and sitcoms like ‘Crowded', ‘The Soul Man’ and ‘Sean Saves the World'. The actor has also earned from a prominent theatre career, appearing in plays like ‘Good Night, Oscar', ‘Promises Promises', ‘Damn Yankees', and ‘An Act of God'.
