Once you make your mark in Hollywood, the world really becomes your oyster as you keep raking in the massive paychecks. A lot of actors pick up huge amounts of money for little screen time in films. In some cases, there are few dialogues and it’s interesting to see the worth of each word the stars speak on camera. So here is a list of 10 actors who were paid the biggest salary per word.
1. Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie was paid $20,934 per word for The Tourist. She spoke a total number of 999 words as she played the role of a suspended police officer, Elise Clifton award. Angelina Jolie earned a total of nearly $21 million from this film, eleven years ago. She is one of the few women in Hollywood who have been able to come and just as much if not more than the male colleagues across Hollywood amidst its unequal pay between men and women.
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke 700 words in Terminator 2, at $21,429 per word, and a total of $15 million. By the time of Terminator 3, the actor’s salary had doubled to $30 million. And on top of that, he got another $1.6 million for accessing private jets, bodyguards, high price suites, bodyguards, and even an on-set gym.
3. Sigourney Weaver
Even though Sigourney Weaver Made good money from the Alien franchise, it is still nowhere near what her male co-stars earned. Initially, Sigourney only got $35,000 but the fee rose up by the time of Alien: Resurrection to $11 million. This fee breaks down as the actress’s best and most profitable pay-per-word fee at $23,128.
4. Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise managed to take in a warping $70 million for the first Mission Impossible film. And the actor spoke a total of 3,249 words as Ethan Hunt in the film and when we calculate his per word salary, it stands at $21,545.
5. Liam Neeson
In the 2010 Clash of the Titans movie, Liam Neeson played the role of Zeus and was paid $5 million as his acting fee. But when we break that down in accordance to the number of words he spoke in the film, which is 142 words, he gets $35,211 for each word spewed out of his mouth.
6. Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp is one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. He charged a fee of $44 million for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. He spoke a total of 661 words in the film and earned $66,606 per word. Hence the film was hugely profitable for the actor.
7. Kurt Russell
Even though ‘Soldier’ flopped at the box office as well as with the critics, Kurt Russell managed to get a $20 million fee for the film. Playing the character of Sergeant Todd 3465, Russell spoke out a total of 104 words. This means that he and $144,231 per word even though the film took home a total of only $14.6 million.
8. Keanu Reeves
For the Matrix series, Keanu Reeves said a total of 638 words combining both Reloaded and Revelations. So he got paid $159,393 per word he spoke. But since he also had shares of the profits, the Jesus doppelgänger decided to gift approximately $75 million to the FX and costume teams of the film.
9. Chris Evans
The Marvel movie actors are known to be paid in hefty numbers and Chris Evans got paid a $15 million fee for Infinity War. Chris Evans spoke a total of 145 words in Infinity War, which when we break up to find out the per word salary, we stand at $102,740 per word.
10. Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson was the centerpiece villain in Tim Burton’s Batman. Mickelson took home a package of $6 million upfront for his role in Batman, but he also negotiated a back and deal that earned him an extra $90 million in the end. Throughout the film, Nicholson spoke only 585 words which means he was paid $166,101 for each word.
