What is William H. Macy’s net worth? William H. Macy is an award-winning American actor, writer, and director best known for his quirky turn as Jerry Lundegaard in the Cohen Brothers’ 1996 film “Fargo”. From humble beginnings as an undergraduate student who thought he wanted to become a veterinarian; he’s went on to acting and has take on well over 130 roles, Macy’s work on screen has grown to a formidable body of work. It includes Boogie Nights, Wag the Dog, Mystery Men, and many others. He is also a writer, producer, and director; Macy directed two episodes of Shameless, produced the 2008 film Family Man as well as 2014’s Rudderless.
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William H. Macy Personal Life
William H. Macy was born in Miami, Florida as William Hall Macy Jr. on March 13, 1950. The Macy family relocated to Georgia, and later Maryland. Macy attended Allegany High School in Cumberland (Class of 1968) and entered Bethany College in West Virginia with the goal of studying to become a veterinarian.
But those plans changed; Macy switched schools, choosing Goddard College in Vermont. This was an auspicious turn for Macy who had the privilege of learning from David Mamet. Macy and Mamet were destined to found St. Nicholas Theater in Chicago, Illinois as well as New York’s Atlantic Theater Company.
The actor married actress Felicity Huffman on September 6, 1997. The couple has two daughters, Sophia (born in 2000) and Georgia (born in 2002).
Macy became active on behalf of the United Cerebral Palsy Association. The Association named him as an ambassador in 2003.
In 2019, Macy’s wife, Felicity Huffman, was arrested in association with a college bribery scandal, with charges including an alleged $15,000 payment to have SAT answers “corrected”. Huffman was released on bond but later served nearly two weeks in a federal prison facility following a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Macy was not charged.
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William H. Macy Career
Macy hit the ground running after he graduated from college in the early 1970s. He appeared in several David Mamet plays including American Buffalo and The Water Engine. For a time, Macy resided in L.A. and Chicago, but in 1980 he relocated to New York City and performed there in some 50-plus Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. Macy appeared on the silver screen for the first time in 1980, in the sci-fi romance film Somewhere in Time.
His television debut happened in 1987, a miniseries called The Awakening Land. Throughout the 1980s, he would appear in shows such as The Equalizer, Spenser: For Hire, Kate & Allie, and others. His film career during those days includes The Last Dragon and Radio Days.
Macy made several popular films during the 1990s. They include Benny & Joon, Searching for Bobby Fischer and Murder in the First among many others. But it was his role in the 1996 Cohen Brothers film, Fargo, that took his career to a whole new level. His gigs following Fargo include work on The Simpsons plus the Stephen King anthology, Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Jurassic Park III. Come 2007, Macy appeared with Tim Allen, John Travolta, and Martin Lawrence in Wild Hogs which brought in more than $250 million.
Things Keep Getting Better For William H. Macy
2009 was a good year for William H. Macy. The actor landed the main role in the pilot of Shameless which ran until December 2020. Macy has since directed The Layover, and Krystal in addition to his acting and directing work on Shameless.
Movie site Fandango.com lists William H. Macy’s awards for his work on screen including:
- 2005 Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
- Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie – Nominated 2003 Hollywood Foreign Press Association
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – Nominated 2002 Hollywood Foreign Press Association
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television – Nominated 2002 Screen Actors Guild
- Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television – Won 1996 Independent Spirit Awards
- Best Actor – Won 1996 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- Best Supporting Actor – Nominated 1996 Screen Actors Guild
- Best Supporting Actor – Nominated 1994 Independent Spirit Awards
- Best Actor – Nominated 1991 Independent Spirit Awards
- Best Supporting Actor – Nominated
The actor has earned four Screen Actors Guild Awards including Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries. This for his work on 2003’s Door to Door. He also earned Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on Shameless between 2015 and 2018.
William H. Macy Assets
In 2012, Macy and Huffman purchased a five-bedroom house in the Hollywood Hills right next door to their main property. Purchased for just under $4 million, the couple put the house on the rental listings with a monthly rent of $16,500 a month. Published reports have the couple also purchasing Felicity Huffman’s childhood house in Colorado. The property was apparently in such bad shape that it had to be torn down and a replacement version of the original home constructed in its place.
William H. Macy’s Net Worth
Some sources list William H. Macy’s net worth in conjunction with Felicity Huffman’s net worth. Depending on which sources you read the couple is worth approximately $45 million. This is based on the combined net worth of Huffman and Macy. Huffman is said to earn some $275 thousand per episode for her work. However, William H. Macy is said to earn $125 thousand per episode.
Macy and Huffman don’t earn the same “per-episode” rate. But this may (or may not) be due to Huffman’s focus on her on-screen roles. Macy has a career that is more diversified, and his per-episode earnings may be lower, but his overall net worth is a bit higher than Huffman’s. Together, their $45 million net worth is a respectable sum. Felicity Huffman on her own is said to be worth some $20 million. William H. Macy’s net worth is somewhere to the tune of $25 million.
Joe Wallace specializes in personal finance, military affairs, and consumer protection topics. Since 1995, his work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and collects unusual vinyl records, which gives him an excuse to write the vinyl blog Turntabling.net.
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