EastEnders actor Michael Greco has admitted that his best financial year was in 1997, the year he joined the long running soap.
The 51-year-old was originally deep in £10,000 worth of debt when he arrived on Albert Square, but quickly went from his humble beginnings to earning a six-figure salary with a luxury car.
Michael admitted that he could have been richer than he’d ever imagined if he’d invested in Bitcoin when advised by some rich entrepreneurs.
The actor bumped into the Winkelvoss twins on a plane over a decade ago when they told him about the new venture, but he quickly declined.
Crypto currency Bitcoin was trading at $13 in 2012 but is worth $47,000 today, which means that just a $1,000 investment would now be worth £3.6 million.
The star spoke to Financial Mail On Sunday about his previously money struggles
“I left drama school in 1992 and moved to North Finchley, in London, to try to make it in the acting world. I shared a house with friends from drama school and we lived on beans on toast. All we had was housing benefit, which paid our rent and £30 a week dole money.”
He admitted that he and his friends would use the underground tube “without a ticket” as they simply “didn’t have the money to pay the fare”.
Greco said that “interest rates were high back then” and he was caught in a “never ending cycle of debt”.
Luckily, after three years of this lifestyle, Michael began to get “theatrical work” which left him with a “bit of cash,” but nothing compared to his EastEnders fortune.
After he left EastEnders, he was “paid a fortune” for playing the lead role in Chicago on London’s West End.
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Michael recalled: “I had just left EastEnders, so my profile was high. I did eight performances a week for between £12,000 and £15,000. I also got paid between £3,000 and £4,000 per hour for personal appearances in nightclubs.”
The actor said that he had to “earn his way through life” as his parents “grew up in poverty” and “had nothing” when they moved to the UK.
His mother worked at a hospital as an auxiliary nurse and cared for sick children, something close to the star’s heart as his son was born prematurely.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
