Adam Levine did 'Begin Again' 'for no money'

Adam Levine was willing to start at the bottom to land a role in "Begin Again."

The Maroon 5 frontman is successful enough to command a sizable salary for working in a film, but, like Jonah Hill before him, he took a paycut in favor of experience.

"I did this movie for no money," Levine told USA Today, adding that, obviously, he's "very lucky that I'm in that position."

In the movie, which also stars Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo, Levine plays an up-and-coming musician whose rise to fame disrupts his relationship with his girlfriend. That rules him out as the heartthrob, but it does give him an opportunity to test his acting skills.

"I want to have good experiences," Levine continued. "I don't want to do a bunch of (expletive) that I hate. I want to treat (acting) completely differently because I have the very fortunate luxury of not having to think of this in terms of money."

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwLuDO_Cxfc&w=450&h=315%5D