These are the best-paid actors on TV
As people’s appetite for TV series began to grow, TV actors started to earn thousands of dollars per episode.
The great incomes are a direct result of the ever-growing demand for TV series and the debut of producers such as Netflix and Amazon. A chart made by the Independent revealed that some of the best paid TV actors are Robert De Niro, Kevin Spacey, Kaley Cuoco, Dwayne Johnson, as well as Game of Thrones actors.
Robert De Niro is at the top of the list when it comes to drama actors, with $775,000 per episode, and he is closely followed by Mark Harmon, who earns $525,000. The third place is occupied by many actors who earn $500,000 per episode, among them being Emilia Clarke, Nicolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Kevin Costner and Kevin Spacey.
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DRAMA |
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ACTOR |
SHOW/NETWORK |
Per-Episode Estimate |
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Robert De Niro |
Untitled David O. Russell project/Amazon |
$775,000 loading...
|
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Mark Harmon |
NCIS/CBS |
$525,000 |
|
Emilia Clarke |
Game of Thrones/HBO |
$500,000 |
|
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau |
Game of Thrones/HBO |
$500,000 |
|
Peter Dinklage |
Game of Thrones/HBO |
$500,000 |
|
Kit Harington |
Game of Thrones/HBO |
$500,000 |
|
Lena Headey |
Game of Thrones/HBO |
$500,000 |
|
Kevin Costner |
Yellowstone/Paramount |
$500,000 |
|
Kevin Spacey |
House of Cards/Netflix |
$500,000 |
|
Claire Danes |
Homeland/Showtime |
$450,000 |
|
Ellen Pompeo |
Grey’s Anatomy/ABC |
$450,000 |
|
William H. Macy |
Shameless/Showtime |
$350,000 |
|
Emmy Rossum |
Shameless/Showtime |
$350,000 |
|
Billy Bob Thornton |
Goliath/Amazon |
$350,000 |
|
Jason Bateman |
Ozark/Netflix |
$300,000 |
|
Laura Linney |
Ozark/Netflix |
$300,000 |
|
Anthony Hopkins |
Westworld/HBO |
$300,000 |
|
Kiefer Sutherland |
Designated Survivor/ABC |
$300,000 |
|
James Spader |
The Blacklist/NBC |
$300,000 |
|
Kerry Washington |
Scandal/ABC |
$250,000 |
|
Elisabeth Moss |
The Handmaid’s Tale/Hulu |
$200,000 |
|
Jeffrey Donovan |
Shut Eye/Hulu |
$175,000 |
|
Michael Weatherly |
Bull/CBS |
$175,000 |
|
Bob Odenkirk |
Better Call Saul/AMC |
$150,000 |
|
Caitriona Balfe |
Outlander/Starz |
$100,000 |
|
Jonathan Banks |
Better Call Saul/AMC |
$100,000 |
|
Sam Heughan |
Outlander/Starz |
$100,000 |
|
Mandy Moore |
This Is Us/NBC |
$85,000 |
|
Milo Ventimiglia |
This Is Us/NBC |
$85,000 |
|
Sterling K. Brown |
This Is Us/NBC |
$75,000 |
|
Claire Foy |
The Crown/Netflix |
$40,000 |
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Justin Hartley |
This Is Us/NBC |
$40,000 |
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Chrissy Metz |
This Is Us/NBC |
$40,000 |
TABLE – Variety
At the top of the list of best paid comedy actors can be found the leads of The Big Bang Theory sit-com – Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar and Jim Parsons – who earn $900,000 per episode. The second place is occupied by Dwayne Johnson, who earns $650,000 per episode. The actors found on the third place earn $500,000 per episode: Mayim Bialik, Melissa Rauch, Julie Bowen, Ty Burell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ed O’Neil, Eric Stonestreet and Sofia Vergara.
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COMEDY |
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ACTOR |
SHOW/NETWORK |
Per-Episode Estimate |
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Kaley Cuoco |
The Big Bang Theory/CBS |
$900,000 |
|
Johnny Galecki |
The Big Bang Theory/CBS |
$900,000 |
|
Simon Helberg |
The Big Bang Theory/CBS |
$900,000 |
|
Kunal Nayyar |
The Big Bang Theory/CBS |
$900,000 |
|
Jim Parsons |
The Big Bang Theory/CBS |
$900,000 |
|
Dwayne Johnson |
Ballers/HBO |
$650,000 |
|
Mayim Bialik |
The Big Bang Theory/CBS |
$500,000 |
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Julie Bowen |
Modern Family/ABC |
$500,000 |
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Ty Burrell |
Modern Family/ABC |
$500,000 |
|
Jesse Tyler Ferguson |
Modern Family/ABC |
$500,000 |
|
Ed O’Neill |
Modern Family/ABC |
$500,000 |
|
Melissa Rauch |
The Big Bang Theory/CBS |
$500,000 |
|
Eric Stonestreet |
Modern Family/ABC |
$500,000 |
|
Sofia Vergara |
Modern Family/ABC |
$500,000 |
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Jeffrey Tambor |
Transparent/Amazon |
$275,000 |
|
Roseanne Barr |
Roseanne/ABC |
$250,000 |
|
John Goodman |
Roseanne/ABC |
$250,000 |
|
Sean P. Hayes |
Will & Grace/NBC |
$250,000 |
|
Patricia Heaton |
The Middle/ABC |
$250,000 |
|
Julia Louis-Dreyfus |
Veep/HBO |
$250,000 |
|
Eric McCormack |
Will & Grace/NBC |
$250,000 |
|
Debra Messing |
Will & Grace/NBC |
$250,000 |
|
Megan Mullally |
Will & Grace/NBC |
$250,000 |
|
Kevin James |
Kevin Can Wait/CBS |
$200,000 |
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Matt LeBlanc |
Man With a Plan/CBS |
$200,000 |
|
Ellie Kemper |
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/Netflix |
$150,000 |
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Nick Nolte |
Graves/Epix |
$125,000 |
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Leah Remini |
Kevin Can Wait/CBS |
$125,000 |
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Craig Robinson |
Ghosted/Fox |
$125,000 |
|
Adam Scott |
Ghosted/Fox |
$125,000 |
|
Sela Ward |
Graves/Epix |
$125,000 |
|
Tituss Burgess |
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt/Netflix |
$90,000 |
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Donald Glover |
Atlanta/FX |
$75,000 |
TABLE – Variety
The best paid reality TV, news or show hosts are Ellen Degeneres, who earns $50 million a year, followed by Judith Sheindlin, with $47 million a year. Matt Lauer and Katy Perry share the third place, both of them earning $25 million a year.
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REALITY/NEWS/HOST |
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ACTOR |
SHOW/NETWORK |
ANNUAL SALARY ESTIMATE |
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Ellen DeGeneres |
The Ellen DeGeneres Show /Syndicated |
$50m |
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Judith Sheindlin |
Judge Judy/Syndicated |
$47m |
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Matt Lauer |
Today/NBC |
$25m |
|
Katy Perry |
American Idol/ABC |
$25m |
|
Kelly Ripa |
Live With Kelly & Ryan/Syndicated |
$22m |
|
Megyn Kelly |
NBC News |
$18m |
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Robin Roberts |
Good Morning America/ABC |
$18m |
|
Jimmy Fallon |
The Tonight Show/NBC |
$16m |
|
Stephen Colbert |
The Late Show/CBS |
$15m |
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Jimmy Kimmel |
Jimmy Kimmel Live/ABC |
$15m |
|
Pat Sajak |
Wheel of Fortune/Syndicated |
$15m |
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Ryan Seacrest |
Live With Kelly & Ryan/Syndicated |
$15m |
|
George Stephanopoulos |
ABC News |
$15m |
|
Anderson Cooper |
CNN |
$12m |
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David Letterman |
Untitled interview show/Netflix* |
$12m |
|
Conan O’Brien |
Conan/TBS |
$12m |
|
Ryan Seacrest |
American Idol/ABC |
$12m |
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Alec Baldwin |
Match Game/ABC |
$3m |
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Jamie Foxx |
Beat Shazam/Fox |
$3m |
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Mike Myers |
The Gong Show/ABC |
$3m |
TABLE – Variety
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