Who is the highest paid actors/actresses of all time? (1 Viewer)

[Ash Williams]

I have a slight feeling that this thread is going to be moved,but anyway. I think Mel Gibson in The Patriot was the most money ever received by and actor/actress. I forget how much he got. (IMO)I doubt Bruce Willis got 100 Million for the Sixth Sense as it probably would have been more then the films entire budget.
[Edited last by Ash Williams on October 28, 2001 at 01:36 AM]

 

[Mitty]

Good question, not that it makes my life any richer.
The guy who brokered that deal for Disney is probably flipping burgers though, or cleaning pools.
20M plus a percentage of the gross? I always thought the big stars got a big up front check OR a percentage, not an astronomical fee PLUS a percentage.
I hope Willis' agent got a hell of a Christmas bonus.
Tom Cruise got a big fat paycheck from M:I2, but I don't think it was quite that high. He also served as a producer on that film though (executive?), making a salary plus a back end somewhat understandable. Willis, to my knowledge, held no such role on 6th Sense.
In the end though, it might as well be billion zillion kajillion dollars though, because all of the amounts are fairly inconceivable to me.
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[Dave H]

I always thought Arnold was the highest paid, but I don't remember the amount....something like 20 million a film maybe?

 

[kevin_asai]

Bruce Willis got paid US$100 Million for acting in Sixth Sense. Is he the highest paid actor of all time? Or could it be tom Cruise? Please tell me.

 

[Peter Overduin]

Cruise got just over 50m for MI(1), including all the 'bonuses,' etc. Cameron, as director, got about the same for Titanic.

 

[HenrikTull]

I think the winner is Jack Nicholson, as I seem to remember reading in Guiness book of records that he recieved $60 million for his part in Batman.
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[Jason Harbaugh]

It is Bruce Willis. He received $20 million for Six Sense plus a 20% backend deal. Total came to $70 million. Tom Cruise had the record before that with Mission Impossible I. He made around $60 million for that role with his salery plus backend deal.
I'm sure Cruise made more on MI:2 because of producing etc. but that doesn't count.
I think Arnold was the first actor to get $20 million for a movie. Now even Adam Sandler demands that. Julia Roberts was the first woman though for Erin Brocavich.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Home Theater Software?
Yeah right.
Moved.

 

[Ricky f]

Harrison Ford has made alot of money

 

[Reginald Trent]

Julia Roberts is probably the highest paid actress. I think she consistently gets 20 Million a picture.

 

[DanR]

I guess it depends on whether you are talking upfront fee only or includung the backend deal.
Upfront fees only, I think it's Gibson and Ford with $25.0M, while as someone mentioned Julia Roberts at $20.0M
If you include backend, Tom Cruise wound up with $72.0M for M:I2, and that had nothing to do with the producing. That was strictly the starring role part of it. It's no wonder it seems he's all hyped up to do M:I3 these days.
Regards,
Dan

 

[TerryRL]

Jim Carrey was actually the first actor to get paid $20 million for a movie. He inked a deal to get that much for "The Cable Guy". Sylvester Stallone followed right after when he signed that three-picture deal with Universal that would give him $60 million, a deal that has since fallen by the waistside.
Currently, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, and Tom Hanks are the highest paid actors in Hollywood. They earn $25 million per movie. Here is a list of the $20 million per movie performers...
Robert De Niro
Nicolas Cage
Jim Carrey
Russell Crowe
Leonardo DiCaprio
Martin Lawrence
Eddie Murphy
Mike Myers
Julia Roberts (Roberts is the only actress in Hollywood to demand such a salary)
Adam Sandler
Will Smith
Arnold Schwartzenegger
John Travolta
Chris Tucker
Bruce Willis
Tom Cruise currently holds the record for the most money made from a motion picture. He got his base salary for M:I-2, as well as a fat backend deal to go with his producing fee.

 

[TerryRL]

By the way, Cruise pocketed $75 million just from the box office total of M:I-2 (over $550 million worldwide at the box office) and an undisclosed amount from it's VHS/DVD sales.
Bruce Willis took a pay cut to do "The Sixth Sense" because he liked the script so much. He opted instead to take a fatter backend deal. He got a $5 million fee for the movie and ended up earning over $50 million from his participation in the profits earned from the movie.
Ironically, the only other entity in Hollywood that gets $25 million per movie is George Lucas' FX house ILM. They get that fee, plus a percentage of whatever the movie grosses at the box office. This is why they're the only FX house that isn't swimming in red ink. The #2 company, Sony Imageworks, and the #3 company, Digital Domain, are still struggling to turn a decent profit.
Also, expect George Clooney, Robin Williams, Jackie Chan, and Brad Pitt to soon add their names to the $20 million per film list. Each one currently earns $15 million per movie.

 

[Alex Spindler]

Hehe, any list that allows you to say Robert DeNiro in the same breath as Chris Tucker and Adam Sandler is, to say the least, surreal.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

Funny thing is that DeNiro being the terrific actor that he is only recently has been able to demand a high fee because of his successful comedies.

 

[TerryRL]

De Niro has had phenomenal success lately as "Analyze This" ($106.8 million), "Meet the Parents" ($166.2 million), and "The Score" ($71.1 million) have all done very well. It was only logical that he garner a $20 million payday for "Analyze This". He's also getting $20 million for "Meet the Fockers" as well. After a career that's seen him win two Oscars (Best Supporting Actor in "The Godfather Part II" and Best Actor in "Raging Bull") it's nice to see him getting respect as a major box office draw.

 

[TerryRL]

Oops, he's getting $20 mil for "Analyze That". My bad.

 

[Steve_Ch]

"Of all time" is kind of a tricky proposition, as there is always the factor of inflation agjustment. I beleive Liz Taylor in Cleopetra was the first actor/actress to break the $1M per movie mark, and according to the "Making of Cleopetra" documentary, Fox ended up paying her around $7 million for the movie and this was 40 years ago !!!
Jack Nicolson is supposed to have raged in millions and a cut of gross for cameo (or just 1 or 2 days shooting), so the $$$ may be merely low millions, but in proportion to time, he could well be the top paid person (and Jack almost NEVER spend anytime peddling movies in those grueling talkshow/promotion circuits).

 

[Martin Jeeves]

Richard Gere is getting $15 million for next years erotic thriller 'Unfaithful'. His co-star (who apparently has more screen time than he does) Diane Lane only got $3 million.
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[JonZ]

Hendrick, that would have been my choice-Nicholson for Batman-around 60 million compared to Michael Keaton who settled for a set lump sum which I believe came to around 2 million.
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