The 10 highest-grossing actors of all time
Hollywood is constantly churning out new movies for our entertainment, with big-budget blockbusters becoming a vital source of income to keep the industry afloat. These films rake in obscene amounts of money, and they typically reward their actors with a paycheck that would allow them never to work again.
Acting is a tough business to crack, with many aspiring stars failing to receive significant success, if any. However, some actors have found themselves in the desirable position of being highly sought after, earning large sums of money for any job they happen to take on.
Elsewhere, some actors might not be the highest-paid, but they hold records for the highest box-office grosses in their respective careers. For example, actors like Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise and Will Smith are some of Hollywood’s highest-earning stars, yet none of them make it onto the highest-grossing list.
At number ten on the list of highest-grossing actors (which includes all roles, not just leading parts) is Andy Serkis, best known for playing Gollum in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit franchises. Additionally, he has starred in highly popular movies such as the recent Planet of the Apes trilogy, the Star Wars prequel trilogy and 2005’s King Kong. For this reason, his filmography boasts a net total of $15,197,137,127, with his highest-grossing film being Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Only two women make it onto the list – Scarlett Johansson and Zoe Saldaña. The former has had a varied career, appearing in movies such as Ghost World and Lost in Translation as well as playing Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When it comes to highest-grossing leading actors, she takes the top spot.
Numerous entries to the list are stars of Avengers: Endgame, such as Johansson, Chris Pratt and Samuel L. Jackson. The movie brought in a whopping $2.799 billion worldwide, and for some time, it was the highest-grossing movie ever made. Combined with their other successful projects, these actors have earned enormous amounts of box-office revenue.
Taking the number one spot is Stan Lee, also a star of Avengers: Endgame. With a worldwide gross of $30,601,574,433, Lee stands above any other actor in terms of box-office success. He starred in 50 movies, yet he was technically not an actor. Lee was a comic book writer responsible for co-creating some of the most iconic characters of all time, from The Hulk to Spider-Man.
Lee cameoed in a considerable amount of television shows and movies based on his characters. Due to the sheer popularity of Marvel, with each of their films earning incredulous amounts of money, Lee’s filmography has raked in more money than any other star.
Discover the full list below.
The 10 highest-grossing actors:
- Stan Lee – $30,601,574,433
- Samuel L. Jackson – $27,774,380,735
- Frank Welker – $17,442,437,820
- John Ratzenberger – $16,766,086,423
- Bob Bergen – $15,707,353,005
- Chris Pratt – $15,663,322,335
- Zoe Saldaña – $15,533,829,929
- Scarlett Johansson – $15,428,096,444
- Robert Downey Jr. – $15,346,079,650
- Andy Serkis – $15,197,137,127
