Actors might make more money than you or me , but it’s hard to deny that, in most cases, they work very hard to get their payday.
…except when they don’t. Have you ever taken on a short-term gig that pays suspiciously well? Actors do this all the time, cashing in big-time for a relatively limited role. Here are some of the most egregious examples of actors collecting a big payday for not doing a whole lot.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the biggest movie stars of the ’80s and ’90s, and his pay tended to reflect his status in Hollywood. At the height of his fame, he appeared in the campy Batman and Robin . He spent close to a month on set, but his final payday — $25 million overall — made it all worth it.
Marlon Brando
Brando wasn’t in Superman for very long, with his appearance totaling under 20 minutes overall. But he was paid $3.7 million for the role, and also negotiated a deal to receive a large share — 11.75% — of the movie’s backend profits.
Dwayne Johnson
The Other Guys seems like it’ll feature Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson prominently, but then something hilarious happens to them and the tone shifts. For his extremely brief role in the comedy, Johnson made a reported $9 million .
Tom Felton
It’s hard to imagine the Harry Potter films without the presence of Tom Felton, but overall he’s barely in the movies, appearing in just 31 minutes across all of them. He was able to cash in, though, being paid $14 million overall for his appearances.
Mark Wahlberg
In an incident that led to Hollywood’s gender-based pay gap coming under harsh scrutiny, Marky Mark was paid $1.5 million for a reshoot of All The Money in the World . His co-star Michelle Williams was paid under $1,000 for the same reshoot.
Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway did a lot with her role in Les Misérables . Even though she was only on screen for 15 minutes, she won an Academy Award for her role. She was also paid $10 million for her brief appearance.
Jennifer Lawrence
J-Law was able to leverage her star power for her short role in Dark Phoenix . She was paid a whopping $4.7 million , which means she made even more than Sophie Turner, who was actually the star of the movie.
John Cena
They say you can’t see John Cena, and you could barely see him in Trainwreck , as his appearance — which was pretty much just a cameo — totaled only three scenes. Still, he’s a bankable star and his role paid him a reported $2.5 million .
Julia Roberts
Roberts did something a little bit different for her role in Valentine’s Day , which was essentially a cameo. On top of the $3 million she was paid, she also negotiated a deal to be paid 3% of the film’s profits .
Alec Guinness
Legendary actor Sir Alex Guinness was a big name by the time the original Star Wars movie came out. He negotiated payment of 2.25% of the film’s gross. Over time, that number ballooned to close to $100 million for his 20 minutes of screen-time.
Mark Hamill
The end of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens has a big, big reveal at the end (spoiler alert): Luke Skywalker himself, played by Mark Hamill. He didn’t say a word and was barely on camera, and was paid a few million for the role.
Harry Styles
Superhero films are known for their post-credits teasers, and the one in Eternals featured Harry Styles. Even though Styles wasn’t in the actual film and only had a small cameo, he was paid $380,000 for his minute-long scene.
Vin Diesel
Vin Diesel has a pretty easy role when he plays Groot. The character is fully CGI and only says one line: “I am Groot.” His various appearances as the character have paid him a whopping $54.5 million overall.
Robert Downey Jr.
RDJ is a big part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and as such, he demands a big salary. He was hardly the focal point of Spider-Man: Homecoming , but he still cashed in to the tune of $10 million for his eight minutes of screen-time.
RELATED STORIES
Cher
Cher is a living music legend at this point, and the producers of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again had to open the checkbook to secure her for the musical. When it was all said and done, she was paid $1 million for just seven minutes of on-screen time.
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp was heavily featured in the marketing for Alice in Wonderland , but when the film came out, he was only in the movie for about seven minutes in total. This didn’t stop Disney from writing him a check for £50 million .
Meryl Streep
Streep is another legend who appeared in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again . Since her character was dead before the events of the film took place, her appearances totaled about five minutes of film time. Still, she was paid $3 million .
Cameron Diaz
Another CGI role, albeit one that required a little more work, was the one played by Cameron Diaz in the Shrek franchise. Diaz was paid $10 million to appear in Shrek 2 . Despite the fact that Princess Fiona is a major character, she says the voice work only took ten hours overall.
Zendaya
Zendaya is a hot commodity in Hollywood these days, and she was paid $300,000 for her role in Dune . It isn’t a huge payday as far as Hollywood goes, but it’s pretty good considering she only appeared in about seven minutes of the completed movie.
Jared Leto
Jared Leto was certainly unforgettable in Suicide Squad , but when it was all said and done, he didn’t have a huge role. Overall, he was only on screen for slightly longer than seven minutes . That means his salary of $7 million paid him about a million dollars for every minute he appeared on screen.
