It's that time of year again when Forbes releases the list of the top earing actors in Hollywood. The top 10 includes a mix of the usual suspects and some surprises thrown in as well. The list again proves that when it comes to careers, acting in Hollywood can be more than a little lucrative. The salaries and back-end deals that these top talents make could finance most small countries. Even when a film is not their most impressive piece of work, these A-list actors continue to rake in the big bucks.
Topping the list this year is "Iron Man" actor Robert Downey, Jr., whose resurgence since taking on the role in 2008 has made his number one rank that much more impressive. Downey reportedly took in an estimated $75 million in the past year, according to Forbes. This marks the second consecutive year that Downey, Jr. has topped the list of the Hollywood elite. The 49-year-old actor nabbed most of his cash from 2013's "Iron Man 3," which scored an impressive $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office.
"As Iron Man, he's the driving force behind four of Marvel's biggest hits, including 'The Avengers,'" said Dorothy Pomerantz of Forbes. With "Avengers: Age of Ultron" on the horizon for 2015, the actor could have a three-peat on his hands by next year. The film just wrapped principal photography, and it is no doubt the most anticipated film of 2015 behind "Star Wars: Episode VII."
Former WWE star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, whose franchises include the "G.I. Joe" and "Fast and the Furious" films, came in second place on the list with an estimated $52 million. Johnson may be joining the superhero elite soon and has teased that he is angling to take on DC's "Shazam" in the near future. Just behind Johnson is Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper who scored with $46 million.
"His work in the lucrative 'Hangover,' franchise has given him the ability to take risks with smaller films like 'Silver Linings Playbook,' and 'American Hustle,'" Forbes said about Cooper.
"The Wolf of Wall Street" star Leonardo DiCaprio had another lucrative year with two films earning close to $400 million apiece. DiCaprio earned an estimated $39 million in the calendar year, coming in at the number four spot from Forbes. Chris Hemsworth came in the number five spot with $37 million, thanks to his work on "Thor: The Dark World."
While grosses get higher, star salaries and back-end deals will continue to get into the stratosphere.
