Movie stars have been fascinating audiences of all backgrounds and ages ever since Hollywood’s Golden Age,making news with their scandals, turning heads with their peculiar sense of fashion, securing invites to the most prestigious events in every corner of the globe, and most of all, immortalizing their names by leaving behind a legacy for future generations.
Amid all the glitz and glamor, though, one can’t help but wonder whether their colossal paychecks are well-deserved, even if they certainly need them to maintain their lavish lifestyle and throw parties in their opulent mansions. Whetherthey’re Oscar winnersor not, how much do actors and actresses really make, and how accurate are those public numbers?
Jane Fonda may have earned $13 million in 1987, but Sylvester Stallone made a whopping $74 million in comparison. Similarly, Scarlett Johansson secured $56 million in 2019 — while Dwayne Johnson was paid $89.4 million. That is to say, gender pay disparity is, sadly, still ongoing in every industry, and even more so in Hollywood, where the highest-paid actresses make less than 30 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts,according toForbes.
Which explains why, over the last two decades, the highest paid actors were and continue to be men. These are the actors who had the highest net earnings each year from 2003 to 2023, and evidently, not a single actress made the cut. All of the following data comes from reports byForbeseach year.
212003 — Will Smith ($60 million)
The rapper, actor, and producerWill Smithmay have broken to stardom in thebeloved 1990s sitcomThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but he has shown his acting range in a variety of movie genres, from portraying heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali in the biopicAlito a vigilante superhero inHancockand the Genie in the live-action adaptation of Disney’sAladdin.
His net worth is $350 million, and in 2022, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor as Serena and Venus’ father and mentor inKing Richard.
Technically, Keanu Reeves Made More Than Smith
In 2002, Smith produced the buddy cop action-comedyShowtime, starring Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy, which, incidentally, wasn’t well received, but he also reprised his role of Agent J in the hit science-fiction comedyMen in Black II, which grossed $441.8 million.
The following year, he returned as Detective Lowrey in another blockbuster,Bad Boys II, which made $273.3 million and earned him 20% of the gross,perCelebrity Net Worth. Not to mention that he also produced the crime dramaRide or Die, featuring Duane Martin and Vivica Fox.
On another note, sinceThe Matrixsequels were filmed back-to-back, technically and cumulatively, Keanu Reeves made more than Smith in 2003 (by a lot), as shown below:
Total Income in 2003
Keanu Reeves
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions
$30 million
$156 million
202004 — Jim Carrey ($66 million)
The Canadian-American actor and comedianJim Carreyhas a net worth of $180 million and achieved stardom through his uninhibited talent in ’90s comedies likeAce Ventura: Pet Detective,The Mask,Dumb and Dumber, andLiar Liar.
He also earned Golden Globe Awards for the psychological dramedyThe Truman Show, and the biographical comedy,Man on the Moon, proving that he’s not one to be typecast. Celebrity Net Worth confirms that between 1994 and 2008 alone, Carrey made $200 million from salaries and bonuses.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Carrey’s Two Wildly Successful Films in One Year
In 2003, Carrey produced and starred inBruce Almighty, a fantasy comedy where he played a TV reporter who becomes God for a week; it made a staggering $484.6 million against a budget of $81 million.
Riding off that success, in 2004, he starred opposite Kate Winslet in the art-house science-fiction romanceEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which won Best Original Screenplay, and also played the wicked Count Olaf in the dark family comedyLemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events— that fan-favorite adaptation garnered $211.5 million and four Oscar nominations.
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
192005 — Will Ferrell ($40 million)
Emmy-awarded actor, comedian, writer, and producerWill Ferrellis another high-earning celebrity who is mostly known for his comedic roles, having shot to fame onSaturday Night Livein the ’90s. His 2003 comedyElf, for which he received a salary of $17 million, is an enduring classic that is stillrevisited and broadcast every Christmas.
Ferrell’s current net worth is $160 million; his earnings aren’t only from the entertainment field, though, but also from investments in sports and real estate.
Related:Recent Will Ferrell Movies That Are Just as Funny as His Classics
Will Ferrell’s Peak Comedy Era
Ferrell was in top comedic form during the early 2000s. He had 11 acting credits in 2004 and 2005, the most lucrative of which were as Ron Burgundy in the satirical comedies,Anchorman: The Legend of Ron BurgundyandAnchorman: The Adventure Continues; Phil Weston in the sports comedy,Kicking and Screaming; Jack Wyatt / Darrin Stephens in the fantasy comedy,Bewitched; Chazz Reinhold in the star-studded romantic comedy,Wedding Crashers; and Franz Liebkind in the musical comedy,The Producers.
A reboot film based on the original 1960’s show.
It’s baffling howNicole Kidman, who played the witch SamanthainBewitched, only earned $12 million against Ferrell’s $20 million.
182006 — Tom Cruise ($67 million)
With an astounding net worth of $600 million,Tom Cruiseis one of Hollywood’s highest paid icons; he has garnered three Golden Globe Awards and is particularly known for his action roles. Some of his early blockbusters that made him famous includeTop Gunin 1986,Rain Manin 1988, andA Few Good Menin 1992.
The Third Film of Cruise’s Blockbuster Action Franchise
Thanks to the science-fiction thriller that scored $603.9 million at the box office,War of the Worlds, Cruise’s net income (different from net earnings) in 2005 amounted to $100 million. He also produced the romantic tragicomedyElizabethtownthat year, which grossed $52 million.
Moreover, playing Ethan Hunt inMission: Impossible IIIand producing it in 2006 was quite profitable, since the blockbuster spy film grossed $399.4 million and earned him $75 million, though his net earnings for 2006 ended up a bit lower, at $67 million.
Mission: Impossible III
172007 — Johnny Depp ($92 million)
Thanks to his advertising deals with luxury brands and quirky acting credits,Johnny Depp’s net worth once peaked at $900 million, but he is presently only worth $150 million. Still, he is sure to continue earning a sizable sum regularly from his projects as an actor, producer, director, screenwriter, and musician, but also from his investments in restaurants and wine brands.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
Depp Is a Highly Profitable Pirate
One of Depp’s most popular characters is that of the irreverent but lovable pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow, in thePirates of the Caribbeanfranchise.PerBoss Hunting, whileThe Curse of the Black Pearlearned him $10 million in 2003,Dead Man’s Chest, which grossed a phenomenal$1.066 billion in 2006,garnered him a total of $60 million from his base salary and on the backend.
As forPirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, released in May 2007, it grossed $963.4 million at the box office and made him $55 million.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
162008 — Johnny Depp ($72 million)
Johnny Deppkept capitalizing on thePirates of the Caribbeanfranchise, but he also made another fruitful collaboration with Tim Burton in 2007 as the titular vengeful barber in the Victorian musical slasherSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, opposite Helena Bonham Carter.
Sweeney Todd
Depp Goes From a Pirate to a Psychopathic Barber
The film not only earned him $50 million, but also an Academy Award nomination, a Golden Globe Award, and an MTV Movie Award. Evidently, that growing success and his other sources of income helped him remain the highest-paid actor for two consecutive years.
152009 — Harrison Ford ($65 million)
No matter how many projects he takes part in,Harrison Fordwill always be celebrated for two iconic film franchises:Star WarsandIndiana Jones, not to mention a handful of action flicks likeAir Force OneandThe Fugitive. His net worth in 2024 is about $300 million.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Ford Revived an Iconic Action Hero
Depp would have also been the highest-paid actor in 2009 — if it weren’t for Ford, who reprised his role of the titular brash archaeologist and adventurer inIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The series' long-awaited fourth installment broke the box office in 2008 with $790.7 million, against a budget of $185 million.
Ford also starred in the 2009 crime drama,Crossing Over, as ICE Special Agent Max Brogan. In comparison, the most paid actress that year was Angelina Jolie, with $27 million, less than half of Ford’s earnings.
142010 — Johnny Depp ($75 million)
Deppwas still on a roll in 2009, consenting to a cameo inThe Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassusin the wake of Heath Ledger’s passing, and playing John Dillinger in the biographical crime drama,Public Enemies, which grossed $214.1 million and earned him $20 million.
Alice in Wonderland
That wasn’t what secured him the big bucks in 2010, though. He reportedly received $40 million (some sources claim it was $50 million) just for appearing for a few minutes as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton’sversion ofAlice in Wonderland.
Additionally, the actor earned a Golden Globe nomination and a Teen Choice Award for portraying Frank Tupelo/Alexander Pearce in the romantic thrillerThe Tourist, opposite Angelina Jolie.
132011 — Leonardo DiCaprio ($77 million)
Leonardo DiCapriohas been active in the industry since 1989, and didn’t achieve international fame until the tragic romancesRomeo + Julietin 1996 andTitanicin 1997. Despite receiving multiple nominations spanning several genres, he only won an Oscar in 2016 for the survival dramaThe Revenant. Today, his net worth is estimated at about $300 million.
DiCaprio Worked With Big Name Directors Scorsese and Nolan
In 2010, DiCaprio portrayed Edward Daniels in Scorsese’s psychological thrillerShutter Island, and Dom Cobb in the mind-bending action filmInception, which made $294.8 million and $839 million at the box office, respectively.
PerCheat Sheet, the actor took a massive pay cut for the latter film against the promise that he would split future box-office earnings with the director, Christopher Nolan. And that is how he ended up with $50 million fromInceptionalone.
In 2011, DiCaprio played FBI director J. Edgar Hoover in the biographical dramaJ. Edgar, which was scored, produced, anddirected by the iconic Clint Eastwood. The movie made $84.9 million and earned the actor a Golden Globe nomination, but he reportedly only agreed to take $2 million instead of his usual $20 million talent fee.
That same year, Depp earned $35 million fromPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, bringing his net income to $55 million.
122012 — Tom Cruise ($75 million)
While Kristen Stewart made $34.5 million from theTwilightmovies in 2012, Cruise earned more than double that amount from acting in and producingMission: Impossible – Ghost Protocolin 2011 and the action thrillerJack Reacherin 2012.
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol
Blamed for a terrorist attack on the Kremlin, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the entire IMF agency are disavowed by the U.S. government, while the president initiates the Ghost Protocol. Forced to go “off the grid” – left without resources or backup – Hunt must somehow clear the agency’s name and prevent another attack. Complicating matters even more, Ethan must undertake the impossible mission with a group of fellow IMF fugitives whose actual motives are suspect.
Cruise Has Come a Long Way Since Top Gun
The former garnered $694.7 million at the box office, while the latter made $218.3 million. It certainly paid to be both the male lead and the producer; quite an achievement and a long way fromTop Gun’s mere $2-million paycheck.
