According to Variety, Tom Cruise is currently raking in record sums with Top Gun: Maverick. This puts the 60-year-old at the top of the Hollywood salary rankings. On TV, Kevin Costner is the actor who gets the biggest paycheck.
He still can: According to a new payroll from Variety, Tom Cruise is said to be the highest-paid film actor in the world. The “Top Gun: Maverick” star is said to be making more than $100 million from his latest film. The flick is also Paramount’s highest-grossing film of all time. It was the first of Cruise’s films to break the billion mark, grossing $1.2 billion worldwide. According to the report, the fact that Cruise benefits from this is also due to the fact that, among other things, he is said to be involved in ticket sales.
The “Variety” ranking also lists other highly paid actors. In second place is Will Smith, who is said to have received an estimated $35 million for “Emancipation.” Leonardo DiCaprio got $30 million for his role in Killers of the Flower Moon, as did Brad Pitt for Formula 1 Drama. Dwayne Johnson, who is said to have received 22.5 million for “Black Adam”, completes the top 5.
Other popular actors on the list include Joaquin Phoenix, who reportedly received $20 million for the “Joker” sequel. Just as much as Ryan Reynolds made for his involvement in Spirited. Jason Momoa received $15 million for his role in “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” and Steve Carell received $12.5 million for “Minions: In Search of the Mini Boss”.
At number 17 is an actress on the list: Margot Robbie, who, like Ryan Gosling, is said to receive $12.5 million for her role in “Barbie”. Shortly thereafter follows Millie Bobby Brown, who is said to have received 10 million dollars for “Enola Holmes 2”.
According to Variety, the highest paid TV actor is Kevin Costner. The 67-year-old is reportedly getting $1.3 million (€1.27 million) per episode for his role in the series “Yellowstone”. In the Neowestern series, Costner plays patriarch John Dutton, who lives with his family on a ranch in Montana. For the first season of the Paramount series, the actor is said to have received $500,000 per episode in 2018.
While the series failed to fully impress critics, each season topped the last in ratings. In season four, the audience was four times larger than in season one. The series, which is being produced by Costner, has also spawned two prequels: “1883,” starring Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, premiered in December 2021. And the upcoming series 1923, which, according to Variety, will star Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren and also be paid a record-breaking $1 million per episode.
According to “Variety”, Costner is not the only star who receives $ 1.3 million per series episode – Mahershala Ali can also look forward to this proud salary thanks to “The Pilot”. Michael Keaton is getting paid $1 million per episode for his work on Dopesick, along with the aforementioned Ford and Mirren in 1923 and Jason Sudeikis in Ted Lasso and Sylvester Stallone in Tulsa King.
Other highlights on the list include Elizabeth Olsen, who earned $875,000 an episode for “Love and Death,” and Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto, who filmed “We Crashed” for $750,000 an episode. David Harbor and Winona Ryder are reportedly getting paid $450,000 per episode of Stranger Things.
