These are the Highest-Paid Actors and Actresses of 2021

How much money does an actor or actress earn for starring in a movie? That, without a doubt, is one of the questions most often asked by movie fans. Compared to previous years, the amount of millions of dollars that actors receive has increased dramatically, in part because of the competition that the studios have faced with streaming platforms. This 2021 has not been the exception and among superheroes, secret agents and real life characters are the best paid in the world.

In the 90's the salary cap for actors and actresses was 20 million dollars. Jim Carrey was in charge of getting that standard sum for actors in Hollywood in 1996 when he appeared in the film "The Cable Guy." Since then, this amount became consistent and even a bit impressive for the time, although the first actress to win that was Julia Roberts in 2000 with "Erin Brockovich" and surpassing it three years later with "Mona Lisa Smile" by receivinging 25 million dollars .

And to all this another question also arises: why are these salaries so high? The answer is because thanks to these actors and actresses, the studios manage to raise immense amounts of money that many of us cannot even imagine. Having certain figures in a production is already synonymous with success, since they are sought-after artists with a long history in the industry, something very valuable for those who are dedicated to making and selling cinema. In addition, as mentioned above, streaming platforms have taken such an immense role in recent years that they make their proposals attractive in the eyes of many actors.

$ 100 million for a movie?

According to Variety magazine, the list of the highest paid on the big screen of 2021 is dominated mostly by actors. The latest to join was Robert Pattinson, who became one of the lowest paid Batman by receiving $ 3 million for the next DC Comics movie. The following names are: Chris Pine (11.5 million) in "Dungeons and Dragons", Keanu Reeves (12 million) for "Matrix 4", Tom Cruise (13 million) in "Top Gun: Maverick", and Michael B. Jordan ( 15 million) for "Without Remorse."

Reaching the top of $ 20 million we meet three other celebrities with great experience. Brad Pitt will be the protagonist of the thriller "Bullet Train", which will be directed by David Leitch and has a cast full of great figures. For his part, Chris Hemsworth will once again dress as a superhero in "Thor: Love and Thunder", one of the most anticipated films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Ryan Gosling will be in the new film of the Russo brothers with "The Gray Man", a Netflix production that will also have the participation of Chris Evans and Ana de Armas .

The next steps range from sixth to third place. With 30 million Mark Wahlberg appears in "Spenser Confidential", another action film very much in his style. At the same range of earnings is Leonardo Di Caprio, who is in the cast of "Don't Look Up ", a movie on which Netflix has bet a lot of money. For its part, the millions increase to 40 with Denzel Washington and Will Smith. The first is the protagonist of "The Little Things", a suspense film that has other stars like Jared Leto and Rami Malek. The other will play the father of tennis players Venus and Serena Williams in "King Richard."

Second place now belongs to Dwayne Johnson, who had held the seat of honor as the highest paid actor for several years. This time we will see "The Rock" in "Red One", one of the biggest bets that Amazon Studios will make for next year and for which it has paid 50 million dollars exclusively to the actor. And it is that the only one capable of surpassing this figure has been Daniel Craig, and not precisely because of his character from 007, but because of that of the detective Benoit Blanc in the sequel to "Knives Out". The Netflix production will give the British the large sum of 100 million dollars .

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The best paid actresses

For this list, only three actresses stand out. Sandra Bullock appears specifically in ninth place with $ 20 million, which is considered the standard amount for average movies. The 57-year-old actress will star in "The Lost City of D," an adventure and comedy film where she will share the screen with Channing Tatum and Daniel Radcliffe. This Paramount Pictures production has a release date for April 15, 2022.

Also, tied for a salary of 25 million are Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lawrence. On the one hand, the iconic 53-year-old actress stars alongside Denzel Washington in "Leave the World Behind," a thriller based on the novel by Rumaan Alam and to be produced by Netflix. In turn, the 31-year-old is the co-star, along with Di Caprio, of "Don't Look Up", a story that will show two astronomers trying to explain to the world that a comet will hit the Earth in six months and could destroy humanity.