Octavia Spencer’s Ma Costar Says She Paid for His Publicist When He Was Struggling

Octavia Spencer looked out for her Ma costar Gianni Paolo when she paid it forward in a major way.

In the latest installment of Harry Jowsey’s Boyfriend Material podcast, Paolo revealed the Oscar winner gave him $10,000 for him to hire a publicist. 

The Power actor, 29, opened up about the reality of working in Hollywood and the challenges that come with it. He explained that while he was hustling to make it on the big screen, he accumulated $20,000 in debt.

“I didn’t have any money for a publicist ‘cause at this time, this was pre-Ma coming out, and I was like I just can’t spend $5,000 a month for a publicist,” Paolo said. 

He recalled telling Spencer about his situation when she invited the cast to her house for dinner and mentioned the movie’s press tour and the importance of having a publicist. 

“I was like, ‘I don’t have the money to do that. I’m not going to get a publicist,’ ” Paolo explained. 

He continued, “That was on like a Friday. On Monday, she had called her publicist, paid for it completely, and then set me up with her whole team.”

Spencer never asked for the money back, Paolo said.

Despite this, Paolo explained, “When I booked Power, I shot my first episode, got my first paycheck for Power, and then I wired her the money back.”

This news comes a couple of months after it was announced that there would be a sequel to the hit horror movie, with Spencer returning as the titular role. 

“Giving you more MA to meme about. It’s official, @octavia spencer returns in MA 2,” production company Blumhouse and Spencer wrote in an Instagram caption. 

“it’s going to be aMAzing,” Spencer commented.

It has not been announced if Paolo, who starred as Chaz in the thriller, will return to the sequel.