During his interview about his 2023 film, Somewhere In Queens, with The Hollywood Reporter, Ray Romano addressed whether or not his high Everybody Loves Raymond salary created a roadblock for him in terms of booking other television gigs. After all, when someone earns that kind of salary, it tends to become their base pay, at least as far as network television is concerned.
“When the show ended, I did Men of a Certain Age for two years. Then that got canceled,” Ray Romano told The Hollywood Reporter.
Following this, Romano did indeed have a hard time getting back into television, even though he wanted to transition into dramas. According to Romano, his agent was keen on keeping his salary rate as high as it was at the peak of Raymond’s success.
“So, I was unemployed and wanted to stretch my dramatic chops — or see if I had any,” Romano continued in his interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“I was a fan of Parenthood at the time, and I emailed Jason Katims and half-jokingly said, ‘I’m available if you find anything for a old Italian guy.’ He emailed me back right away and said, ‘We can’t afford you.’ I said, ‘Whatever my agent tells you my quote is, talk to me and I will make it work.”’About a week later, my agent called me and went, ‘Ray, did you tell Jason Katims you would work for little money?'”
