FX.co ★ 10 highest-paid movie roles of all time

Bruce Willis: ‘The Sixth Sense’

The zenith of Bruce Willis' career came in the 1990s. At that time, he starred in one of the most successful franchises - "Die Hard". Being a well-paid Hollywood star, Bruce Willis negotiated an extremely lucrative deal for himself. He agreed to star in the psychological thriller - "The Sixth Sense." Apart from a $20 million salary, the actor negotiated for 17% of the film's global box office gross, playing child psychologist Malcolm Crowe. Given that the film grossed $672 million at the box office, the actor’s salary soared to $115 million.

Will Smith: 'Men in Black'

Will Smith made his debut as Agent Jay in 1997. However, he received the highest paycheck for the third movie in the popular “Men in Black” series, which was released in 2012. The third movie grossed $624 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing of all the parts in the franchise. Thanks to the deafening success of the movie, Will Smith earned more than $100 million.

Johnny Depp: ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’

Keanu Reeves: ‘The Matrix’

The role of computer hacker Neo brought American actor Keanu Reeves worldwide fame. Thanks to this role, Reeves cemented a great career in Hollywood. When the first part of the Matrix franchise was released in 1999, the actor was offered many roles in various action movies. However, none of them was as highly-paid as his role in the Matrix. For each film made by the Wachowski brothers, the actor received approximately $83 million.

Robert Downey Jr.: 'Iron Man'

The Avengers franchise, which brought together all of Marvel's most iconic characters on the big screen, started in 2008 with a story about Tony Stark. Robert Downey Jr. portrayed Tony Stark, a brilliant inventor who later became a superhero named Iron Man. The actor starred in several parts of the franchise. Nevertheless, the "Avengers: Infinity War" saga that began in 2018 was the most epic and profitable project. This crossover grossed more than $2 billion at the box office. Downey earned about $75 billion.

Tom Cruise: 'Mission: Impossible'

Another successful project which Tom Cruise participated in was a series of spy films "Mission Impossible". He played the role of CIA agent Ethan Hunt. The first film of the franchise was released in 1996. However, Tom Cruise was paid big bucks to return to the fourth movie called "Ghost Protocol." This movie became a blockbuster, grossing $694 million at the box office and largely surpassing the figures of previous films. Cruise’s salary amounted to $75 million.

Sandra Bullock: 'Gravity'

After in 2010, actress Sandra Bullock received her first Oscar for her role in the film "The Blind Side", the size of her paychecks increased dramatically. For her role as astronaut Ryan Stone in "Gravity," Sandra Bullock negotiated a deal that included $20 million upfront, 15% of the box office gross and 15% of the studio's share of film rental gross, as well as a percentage from TV and ancillary revenue. Thus, Bullock received about $70 million.

Johnny Depp: 'Alice in Wonderland'

Johnny Depp is one of Tim Burton's most beloved actors. Burton has cast Depp in eight movies in which he played the most eccentric roles in his career: Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka, Sweeney Todd, etc. All these roles made Depp extremely popular. However, none of them enriched the actor as much as the role in the film "Alice in Wonderland" did. Johnny Depp made millions portraying the Mad Hatter in "Alice in Wonderland". He received a generous salary of $68 million.

Harrison Ford: 'Indiana Jones'

The role of brave archaeologist Indiana Jones turned Harrison Ford into a movie legend. He starred in three parts of the adventure franchise. However, when in the early 2000s, he received an offer to star in a new film, Ford categorically refused. At that period, he was already semi-retired. For this reason, the Paramount studio basically gave him an offer he could not refuse. For portraying Indiana Jones on big screens, Harrison Ford earned $65 million.

Adam Sandler: 'The Ridiculous Six'

In 2017, Adam Sandler struck a four-movie deal with Netflix worth $250 million. In the first movie in the deal, "The Ridiculous Six," the actor played a man nicknamed "White Knife '' who was brought up by an Indian tribe. It scored a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it grossed $625 million at the box office. For this movie, Sandler received more than $62 million, the highest paycheck in his career.