Most overpaid actors

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Strike Back below!
by: Paul Tassi Nov. 19, 2009

We're very familiar with the annual list of the most bankable actors in Hollywood which always features Will Smith somewhere near the top, but what about the other end of the spectrum? Forbes has just put out with their list of the most overpaid actors in Hollywood. So how did they come up with the numbers?

"We added up each star’s compensation on his or her last three films and the operating income on those films and divided total operating income by the star’s total compensation to come up with each return-on-investment number."

And because I’m morally against clicking through fourteen pages to read a ten item list, here’s the breakdown of the results:

10. Jim Carrey

9. Samuel L. Jackson (he actually gets paid to be in movies?)

8. Leonardo DiCaprio (interesting, he's usually one of the MOST bankable, but not recently with REVOLUTIONARY ROAD and BODY OF LIES)

7. Drew Barrymore

6. Tom Cruise

5. Ice Cube

4. Eddie Murphy (ONLY number four?)

3. Billy Bob Thornton

2. Ewan McGregor (really?)

1. Will Ferrell (no surprise here)

To see the actual dollars and sense of it all, head over to Forbes.

Source: Forbes

Extra Tidbit: I'd like to see a breakdown of this over the lifetime career of the actor, rather than just their last three films.

13 discussions Expand all
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Mr. Fancy Pants
9:11PM on 11/20/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
Kiss of Death
Never work with Cameron Diaz
Never work with Cameron Diaz
 
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Tecmo
2:46PM on 11/19/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
Gotta look at it
For those saying they don't understand how someone made the list or how they shouldn't be on the list, its simple. All you need is a high dollar actor to make either 1) an indie flick not intended for mass audiences or 2) a box office flop. The only one I don't see is McGregor, mostly because I didn't think he pulled in the 20 million a picture that most of the others on the list have. If yo...
For those saying they don't understand how someone made the list or how they shouldn't be on the list, its simple. All you need is a high dollar actor to make either 1) an indie flick not intended for mass audiences or 2) a box office flop. The only one I don't see is McGregor, mostly because I didn't think he pulled in the 20 million a picture that most of the others on the list have. If you star in a big budget movie and it doesn't do well in the box office, you are on this list. I think Land of the Lost shot Ferrell straight to the top of the list.
 
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JimmyArrow
2:13PM on 11/19/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
I'm not sure I agree with their formula.
First of all, just checking the last three films is incredibly short sighted. If you happen to have a bomb in your last three (it happens to every actor at one point or another), it hurts your standing way too much. Secondly, it gives more importance to a successful blockbuster than to a successful art film. And finally, it helps perpetuating the lie that hiring a star should be a guarantee of ...
First of all, just checking the last three films is incredibly short sighted. If you happen to have a bomb in your last three (it happens to every actor at one point or another), it hurts your standing way too much. Secondly, it gives more importance to a successful blockbuster than to a successful art film. And finally, it helps perpetuating the lie that hiring a star should be a guarantee of success independently of other factors. We never have any list of the least bankable directors or producers and they have more influence on the end result than actors.
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TeawithBlood
12:02PM on 11/21/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
You hit it right on the nose.
You hit it right on the nose.
 
filmguy450
2:22PM on 11/19/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
I couldn't agree more!
I couldn't agree more!
 
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Frosty_86
1:39PM on 11/19/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
DiCaprio shouldnt be on the list I havent seen Body of Lies but Revolutionary Road was good even though it wasnt a huge financial success but movies like that hardly ever are. Murphy should be one and Ferrell should be number 1. I dont get McGregor being on the list.
DiCaprio shouldnt be on the list I havent seen Body of Lies but Revolutionary Road was good even though it wasnt a huge financial success but movies like that hardly ever are. Murphy should be one and Ferrell should be number 1. I dont get McGregor being on the list.
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sequencer
2:14PM on 11/19/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
way to miss the point. the article isn't about how good the movie was. it's about whether they made money off it.
way to miss the point. the article isn't about how good the movie was. it's about whether they made money off it.
 
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Skellington
1:24PM on 11/19/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
DiCaprio shouldnt be on the list. Body of Lies wasnt a hit, but Revolutionary Road was a limited release, or at least it wasnt very wide.

What about Cruise, Lions for Lambs was a bad movie, but he is still bankable.

Carrey had a marginal movie among his last 3, Number 23 plus Yes Man and Horton Hears a Who, both made money, I dont get it.

As for Bill...
DiCaprio shouldnt be on the list. Body of Lies wasnt a hit, but Revolutionary Road was a limited release, or at least it wasnt very wide.

What about Cruise, Lions for Lambs was a bad movie, but he is still bankable.

Carrey had a marginal movie among his last 3, Number 23 plus Yes Man and Horton Hears a Who, both made money, I dont get it.

As for Billy Bob Thornton or Ice Cube, they were never bankable.

Ferrell and Murphy deserve to be on the list though.
 
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Skellington
1:24PM on 11/19/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
DiCaprio shouldnt be on the list. Body of Lies wasnt a hit, but Revolutionary Road was a limited release, or at least it wasnt very wide.

What about Cruise, Lions for Lambs was a bad movie, but he is still bankable.

Carrey had a marginal movie among his last 3, Number 23 plus Yes Man and Horton Hears a Who, both made money, I dont get it.

As for Bill...
DiCaprio shouldnt be on the list. Body of Lies wasnt a hit, but Revolutionary Road was a limited release, or at least it wasnt very wide.

What about Cruise, Lions for Lambs was a bad movie, but he is still bankable.

Carrey had a marginal movie among his last 3, Number 23 plus Yes Man and Horton Hears a Who, both made money, I dont get it.

As for Billy Bob Thornton or Ice Cube, they were never bankable.

Ferrell and Murphy deserve to be on the list though.
 
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drexxell
12:29PM on 11/19/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
Do they suck now, or have they always sucked?
The last-3-movies approach gives you a "current stink factor". I suppose for curiosity it'd be interesting to see the career numbers, but if I'm in the business of making movies today, I don't care of Will Farrell was bankable 10 years ago...I care that he sucks today and is a poor investment today.
The last-3-movies approach gives you a "current stink factor". I suppose for curiosity it'd be interesting to see the career numbers, but if I'm in the business of making movies today, I don't care of Will Farrell was bankable 10 years ago...I care that he sucks today and is a poor investment today.
 
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IQuitMrWhite
11:41AM on 11/19/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
Agree with Extra tidbit - Flawed list. Should be of all time, not just last three movies.
Agree with Extra tidbit - Flawed list. Should be of all time, not just last three movies.
 
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Ocelot_Snake
11:38AM on 11/19/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
yah there are a few things odd about this list... like how leo is on both lists.
yah there are a few things odd about this list... like how leo is on both lists.
 
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sumax
11:26AM on 11/19/2009 Add as a friend | MFC profile
. Ewan McGregor is awesome
Ewan McGregor !!! he is a fabulous actor he shouldn't be on the list....
Ewan McGregor !!! he is a fabulous actor he shouldn't be on the list....