The Highest Paid Actors of 2010 and What They Earn
Actors are among the highest paid individuals in the world, and 2010 was no exception, with the highest paid among them earning tens of millions of dollars.
Movie stars fall into that category of earners - and the term is used loosely here - that at times makes executive pay seem like a pittance. Whether they are truly worth all that money or not continues to be up for debate, just as sports fans will continually debate the salaries bestowed up professional athletes. What is certain, however, is that as long as people pay to watch movies and rentDVDs, movie stars are going to continue to earn big money. Many have such star power, sometimes even coupled with acting talent, they can single handedly make or break a film's financial success. Here is a list of the ten highest paid male actors for 2010, how much they earned during the year and some of the movies that have helped to make them unimaginably wealthy. This list is based on earnings from film revenue from June, 2009 through June, 2010.
Johnny Depp: $75 Million
Johnny Depp has always chosen the types of roles that were unlikely to result in him being on this top 10 list, but that changed when he began acting in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which started in 2003 and has become one of the highest-grossing film franchises ever. Among his more quirky films have been Ed Wood and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Mix Depp's ability to portray just about any character with the clout of Disney, and you've got a recipe for earnings. Depp is now considered an automatic earner at the box office, and his roles in Alice in Wonderland and Public Enemies helped those films earn big.
Ben Stiller: $53 Million
Stiller is a well-known comedic actor, and his work in Night at the Museum and the Meet the Parents franchise has been his ticket to extensive earnings. He has also started doing smaller films, much as Depp had in the past, and his film Greenberg only earned $6 million at the box office. Despite that, he is still the second highest earner for 2010.
Tom Hanks: $45 Million
Most of Hanks' earnings over the past year have come from Angels & Demons and the upcoming Larry Crowne, but he has been a consistent earner and a big draw for some time. Hanks has moved into producing movies and mini-series as well, and he was behind Band of Brothers and The Pacific, both excellent series put out by HBO.
Adam Sandler: $40 Million
The second comedic actor to make the list, Sandler is known for his silly antics and sophomoric humor. But that's a big draw among a large segment, and his recent film Grown Ups was the third most successful film at the box office of his career.
Leonardo DiCaprio: $28 Million
DiCaprio has been in a number of successful movies, and his Shutter Island and Inception were huge earners. Of course, DiCaprio is no stranger to box office success, as he was a central actor in Titanic.
Daniel Radcliffe: $25 Million
Daniel Radcliffe will forever be known as Harry Potter, even decades after that film franchise has drawn to a close. It may make it difficult for him to ever get the roles he desires in the future, but it has also made him a multi-millionaire even before he became an adult.
Robert Downey Jr.: $22 Million
Iron Man has been Downey's biggest film of late, but the actor, who has long had battles with alcohol and substance abuse, is a big draw and continues to make successful movies that show off his range.
Tom Cruise: $22 Million
It seems like Tom Cruise has been a top earner for decades now, and the list of successful movies he's been in is quite long.
Brad Pitt: $20 Million
Like Cruise, Pitt is an aging actor who relies primarily on his looks to land his roles. Despite that, he has begun taking to some offbeat and smaller roles here and there that more firmly cement him among legitimate actors, and he continues to be a big draw at the box office as well.
George Clooney: $19 Million
Clooney's films seem to do well regardless of quality, not that many of his films have actually been duds. He brings a certainty gravity to all of his roles, even those that are more comedic, that simply forces audiences to take the film seriously. It also leads to big money at the box office.
Johnny Depp: $75 Million
Johnny Depp has always chosen the types of roles that were unlikely to result in him being on this top 10 list, but that changed when he began acting in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which started in 2003 and has become one of the highest-grossing film franchises ever. Among his more quirky films have been Ed Wood and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Mix Depp's ability to portray just about any character with the clout of Disney, and you've got a recipe for earnings. Depp is now considered an automatic earner at the box office, and his roles in Alice in Wonderland and Public Enemies helped those films earn big.
Ben Stiller: $53 Million
Stiller is a well-known comedic actor, and his work in Night at the Museum and the Meet the Parents franchise has been his ticket to extensive earnings. He has also started doing smaller films, much as Depp had in the past, and his film Greenberg only earned $6 million at the box office. Despite that, he is still the second highest earner for 2010.
Tom Hanks: $45 Million
Most of Hanks' earnings over the past year have come from Angels & Demons and the upcoming Larry Crowne, but he has been a consistent earner and a big draw for some time. Hanks has moved into producing movies and mini-series as well, and he was behind Band of Brothers and The Pacific, both excellent series put out by HBO.
Adam Sandler: $40 Million
The second comedic actor to make the list, Sandler is known for his silly antics and sophomoric humor. But that's a big draw among a large segment, and his recent film Grown Ups was the third most successful film at the box office of his career.
Leonardo DiCaprio: $28 Million
DiCaprio has been in a number of successful movies, and his Shutter Island and Inception were huge earners. Of course, DiCaprio is no stranger to box office success, as he was a central actor in Titanic.
Daniel Radcliffe: $25 Million
Daniel Radcliffe will forever be known as Harry Potter, even decades after that film franchise has drawn to a close. It may make it difficult for him to ever get the roles he desires in the future, but it has also made him a multi-millionaire even before he became an adult.
Robert Downey Jr.: $22 Million
Iron Man has been Downey's biggest film of late, but the actor, who has long had battles with alcohol and substance abuse, is a big draw and continues to make successful movies that show off his range.
Tom Cruise: $22 Million
It seems like Tom Cruise has been a top earner for decades now, and the list of successful movies he's been in is quite long.
Brad Pitt: $20 Million
Like Cruise, Pitt is an aging actor who relies primarily on his looks to land his roles. Despite that, he has begun taking to some offbeat and smaller roles here and there that more firmly cement him among legitimate actors, and he continues to be a big draw at the box office as well.
George Clooney: $19 Million
Clooney's films seem to do well regardless of quality, not that many of his films have actually been duds. He brings a certainty gravity to all of his roles, even those that are more comedic, that simply forces audiences to take the film seriously. It also leads to big money at the box office.
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