These Are The Highest-Earning Movie and TV Roles of All Time
The number of women on this list is very short.
The number of women on this list is very short.
Kelsey Grammer
Movie/TV Show: Fraiser
Paid: $250,000/episode
Grammer was making this amount by the show's third season, which was considerably higher than his co-stars.
Ellen Pompeo
Movie/TV Show: Grey's Anatomy
Paid: $750,000/episode
Pompeo just signed on to do seasons 15 and 16 of Shonda Rhimes' hit drama TV series, and in doing so, just became the highest-paid TV actress—in large part thanks to her own negotiation. She's opened up about her salary to empower other women to fight for what they're worth too.
Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Harry Shearer, and Yeardley Smith
Movie/TV Show: The Simpsons
Paid: $400,000/episode
The cast took a pay cut in 2011 to keep the longest-running show in America going.
Ashton Kutcher
Movie/TV Show: Two and a Half Men
Paid: $750,000/episode
That shakes out to be roughly $34,000 per minute.
David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, and Lisa Kudrow
Movie/TV Show: Friends
Paid: $1 million/episode
When the show first premiered in 1994, the friends were all paid just over $20,000 per episode. As it became a beloved, fan-favorite show, the actors each received a 5000% raise, making $1 million each per episode by the time the show ended in 2004.
John Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco
Movie/TV Show: The Big Bang Theory
Paid: $1 million/episode
The leading cast proposed a three-year deal at $1 million per episode and got it.
Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser
Movie/TV Show: Mad About You
Paid: $1 million/episode
According to their contracts, the duo had to be paid equally. (And it was just announced that there will be a series revival!)
Jerry Seinfeld
Movie/TV Show: Seinfeld
Paid: $1.5 million/episode
Seinfeld took home roughly $267 million to portray himself on TV. Not a bad gig if you ask us.
Mark Walhberg
Movie/TV Show: All the Money in the World (reshoots)
Paid: $1.5 million
Wahlberg was paid $1.5 million to reshoot scenes after Kevin Spacey was dropped from the movie after the sexual allegations brought against him. He was making 1,500 percent more than his co-star Michelle Williams.
Charlie Sheen
Movie/TV Show: Two and a Half Men
Paid: $1.8 million/episode
Sheen was also paid $2 million/episode for Anger Management, which became the highest amount a TV actor received per episode.
Emma Watson
Movie/TV Show: Beauty and the Beast
Paid: $14 million
Her role as Belle in Disney's live-action version of Beauty and the Beast put her in the rankings for Forbes' highest-paid actresses.
Angelina Jolie
Movie/TV Show: Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Paid: $20 million
Mr. and Mrs. Smith is Jolie's highest paying movie role to date. Her role in Maleficent was just $5 million short at a salary of $15 million.
Michael C. Hall
Movie/TV Show: Dexter
Paid: $20 million for seasons 6 and 7
Though he asked to be paid $24 million, Showtime countered with an offer of $20 million, sparking a feud that almost ended the show.
Emma Stone
Movie/TV Show: La La Land
Paid: $26 million
Stone became Forbes' highest-paid actress of 2017.
Brad Pitt
Movie/TV Show: Oceans Eleven
Paid: $30 million
This is the most Pitt has made for a single role in a movie.
Tim Allen
Movie/TV Show: Home Improvement
Paid: $35 million for 28 episodes
Allen was in high-demand at the end of the series and accepted this extremely high salary to play Tim Taylor for the last season.
Daniel Radcliffe
Movie/TV Show: Harry Potter
Paid: $50 million for the final two movies
According to reports, Radcliffe made a combined $29 million from the first four movies. So, $25 million for each of the last two movies seems fair—though in comparison the Harry Potter franchise is worth $25 billion.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Movie/TV Show: Inception
Paid: $59 million
This was surprisingly the most money DiCaprio made from one movie.
Emma Watson
Movie/TV Show: Harry Potter movies
Paid: $60 million
Her earnings from the hit movies are far less than those of Daniel Radcliffe.
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