Before he starred in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” Will Smith made a name for himself in the entertainment world as a rapper. He was then cast as The Fresh Prince, where he made about $50,000 per episode after taxes. His real income was much higher since roughly 70% of his salary was taken by the IRS.
Will Smith may have given most of his money to the government, but there’s no need to worry about him. He went on to have a successful career in Hollywood and still commonly stars in today’s blockbuster hits. Despite his slap incident at the Oscars, it seems like Smith will continue to be a movie star.
Paul Rudd – $450,000
Recently, Paul Rudd starred in a dark comedy released on Netflix called "Living With Yourself." In the series, Rudd plays a copywriter unhappy with his life who accidentally clones himself while trying to improve his mood.
For his work on the series, Rudd was paid $450,000 per episode. It’s a sensible paycheck, especially since Rudd was basically playing two characters. The series had 8 episodes, which means Rudd made $3.6 million dollars total for his work. And when you have already played a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and had your very own trilogy, we guess it's OK to ask for the big bucks when returning to TV.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – $650,000
Even though he started his career as one of the most famous wrestlers in WWE history, Johnson became a household name by showing off his impressive acting chops. In addition to his many movie roles, Johnson starred in the HBO show "Ballers." For his work on the series, Johnson makes $650,000 per episode.
In addition to his role in Ballers, Johnson has also made his way to the big screen in movies like "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," "Moana," and "The Fast & The Furious" franchise. Let's be real here, Dwayne Johnson is never going to do a project for free until the day he drops dead.
Britney Spears – $536,000
Britney Spears has been hard at work since she was a teenager, but that didn’t stop her from joining the cast of X Factor as a judge. In 2012, Spears made $15 million for the entire season. That puts her at about $536,000 per episode. Even though Spears doesn’t need the money, she’s certainly happy to take it. She deserves it!
The star has created a successful career for herself and can now lean back and reap the benefits of her famous name. Despite all of the personal troubles she has gone through over the years, Britney is still beloved around the world by millions of fans.
Tea Leoni – $125,000
In the political drama "Madam Secretary," Tea Leoni plays Elizabeth McCord. Before she starred on television, however, she also made a name for herself by snagging roles in "Deep Impact" and "Jurassic Park III." Truth be told, Leoni was a well-established actress on the big screen before she even led her own TV show. So she was well within her rights to command a big paycheck when "Madam Secretary" came around.
While playing Elizabeth, Leoni makes $125,000 per episode. Her paycheck is significantly less than other female stars like Julie Louis-Dreyfus on Seinfeld, but it’s definitely nothing to scoff at.