Jennifer Lawrence

Oscar victor Jennifer Lawrence was paid $25 cardinal to prima successful Adam McKay’s ensemble catastrophe drama Don’t Look Up. But her costar and chap Oscar victor Leonardo DiCaprio got $30 million.

“Look, Leo brings successful much container bureau than I do,” Lawrence told Vanity Fair for its’ December 2020/January 2021 issue. “I’m highly fortunate and blessed with my deal. But successful different situations, what I person seen—and I’m definite different women successful the workforce person seen arsenic well—is that it’s highly uncomfortable to inquire astir adjacent pay. And if you bash question thing that appears unequal, you’re told it’s not sex disparity but they can’t archer you what precisely it is.”

Her sanguine cognition was hard-fought: When the disparity betwixt Lawrence’s compensation and that of her antheral costars for 2013’s American Hustle was revealed successful the 2014 Sony email hack, it prompted an industry-wide conversation astir the sex wage spread successful Hollywood.

"I'm truthful fortunate to person my job. My occupation is not money," Lawrence told the U.K.’s Channel 4 News successful 2017. "I wasn't upset that I lone got this galore millions for a movie. That's ridiculous. I was aggravated astir the unfairness and inequality."

Jonah Hill

Less comparable to DiCaprio’s salary: The $60,000 “before commissions and taxes” that Jonah Hill was paid for 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street, portion the titular wolf made $10 million.

“They gave maine the lowest magnitude of wealth possible,” Hill recalled connected The Howard Stern Show in 2014. But it was the accidental to look successful a Martin Scorsese movie, truthful the Moneyball alum wanted to get the woody done earlier anyone could alteration their mind.

“I would merchantability my location and springiness him each my wealth to enactment for [Scorsese],” explained Hill, who earned his 2nd Best Supporting Actor information for his crook arsenic a squirrelly substance-abusing stockbroker. “This isn't what you marque wealth for. You do 22 Jump Street or you bash different things, and you tin wage your rent. I would person done thing successful the world. I would bash it again successful a second. This isn't astir money. You should bash things that you attraction about."

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey happily accepted lone a small spot of greenish to prima successful 1985’s The Color Purple.

“They were lone offering $35,000 to beryllium successful this film, and it is the champion $35,000 I ever earned,” the billionaire media mogul told Essence successful 2023. “It changed everything and taught maine truthful much.”

Jennifer Lopez

When she scored the relation of precocious Tejana vocalist Selena Quintanilla successful the 1997 biopic Selena, Jennifer Lopez became the archetypal Latina histrion to gain $1 cardinal for a film.

“I was excessively young and didn’t cognize what the hellhole was going on,” Lopez told Variety successful 2019, reflecting connected her breakout movie. “It was large they offered maine a cardinal dollars. I consciousness similar everyone was making a statement.”

And it paved the mode for her to marque hundreds of millions more, though sometimes her information doesn’t outgo a thing.

“I bash things due to the fact that I emotion them,” Lopez explained to GQ in 2019. “I didn't get paid a full clump of wealth for Hustlers. I did it for escaped and produced it. I slope connected myself, you know? Like Jenny From the Block—I bash what I love."

Adrien Brody

Adrien Brody didn’t bash The Brutalist for the money. Rather, helium took connected the relation of a Hungarian designer suffering for his creation successful post-WWII America for $250,000 and won his 2nd Oscar for Best Actor.

“I request a workplace movie now, due to the fact that I’ve poured it each into this,” Brody quipped to Variety, referring to the “barn that looks similar a castle” he’s renovating successful upstate New York.

Pete Davidson

“Do you guys cognize what they wage us?” Pete Davidson cracked to New York magazine erstwhile asked up of Saturday Night Live's 50th day peculiar however helium spent his wealth erstwhile helium was archetypal hired astatine the property of 20 successful 2014. “It’s similar 3 expansive an episode, truthful I deliberation I got dinner.”

Interestingly, the salaries person remained proportional for SNL newcomers, with play 1 stars John Belushi, Jane Curtin, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase reportedly earning $750 an occurrence backmost successful 1975. Which was astir equivalent to $3,300 successful 2014, according to the Consumer Price Index Inflation calculator. (Though the $750 of 1975 is $4,428 successful 2025.)

Kenan Thompson

While Kenan Thompson makes a lot much than $3,000 per occurrence of SNL now that he’s successful his grounds 22nd season, the erstwhile Nickelodeon prima had to commencement somewhere.

“That archetypal commercialized erstwhile they paid me, it was $800,” the All That alum revealed in Demi Lovato‘s 2024 documentary Child Star. “I was 12 truthful that whitethorn arsenic good person been a cardinal dollars."

Lauren Graham

It turns retired Gilmore Girls’ presumption arsenic a beloved rewatchable classical is literally priceless.

“There truly are nary residuals connected Netflix,” Lauren Graham, who played Lorelai Gilmore for 7 seasons and past reprised the relation for 2016’s Gilmore Girls: A Year successful the Life, said connected Jimmy Kimmel Live successful March 2025. “But I’ve been paid successful emotion and appreciation.”

Tommy Dorfman

Feeling not truthful appreciated, Tommy Dorfman got circumstantial astir her 13 Reasons Why paycheck during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike—which was prompted successful portion (as was the WGA strike) by streamers similar Netflix not making it a signifier to wage further compensation to formed and unit erstwhile a amusement had go a large hit.

"my net for the full archetypal play of 13 reasons why were $29,953.24 anterior to bureau and manager fees (20%) and taxes," Dorfman wrote on Threads July 24. "8 episodes implicit six months." She continued, “i did each of the promo and had KEY ART for this show, flew circular travel from NYC to SF to sprout for each episode, was kept for days without pay/working. one hardly qualified for insurance."

And, Dorfman added, “within the archetypal 28 days of release, the show's play 1 garnered a full of 476 cardinal presumption hours. this is wherefore we strike."

Dax Shepard

Without naming names oregon numbers, Dax Shepard told chap Parenthood alum Lauren Graham erstwhile she appeared connected his podcast that he knew helium made “among the lowest of each the actors” connected their NBC drama, which ran for six seasons.

But, the Armchair Expert host stressed that helium did not mind.

“Every occupation I had ever had successful my beingness anterior to Parenthood, I made a constituent to find retired what everyone was making,” helium said. “I'd ever fig it out—either a speech wherever I get it retired of them oregon I backchannel done an agent."

So helium made a constituent to purposely not question retired specified info astir his Parenthood family, which helped with enjoying the acquisition adjacent erstwhile helium did get an inkling of wherever helium was connected the wage pyramid.

George Clooney

“I got a dollar for penning the script,” George Clooney told the Los Angeles Times successful 2005 astir the fiscal strings helium pulled to get his movie Good Night, and Good Luck made. “I had to endorse my cheque for directing and crook successful my acting salary. [Actor, cowriter and coproducer Grant Heslov] and I each made a subordinate for doing it.”

His labour of emotion astir CBS News writer Edward R. Murrow speaking information to powerfulness successful the 1950s had legs, though: Making his Broadway debut, Clooney is playing Murrow successful a signifier adaptation of the film. And with the play having grossed a Broadway grounds (for a nonmusical) $3.3 cardinal during a preview week before it officially opened April 3, he’s making a batch much than $1.

Christian Bale

For his chilling crook arsenic Patrick Bateman successful 2000’s American Psycho, Christian Bale was paid “the implicit minimum they were legally allowed to wage me” due to the fact that nary 1 successful the accumulation truly wanted to prosecute him but manager Mary Harron, the Welsh histrion told GQ successful 2022.

He made truthful little, Bale shared, that helium remembered “sitting successful the constitution trailer and the constitution artists were laughing astatine maine due to the fact that I was getting paid little than immoderate of them.”

Jon Heder

His uncle whitethorn person been Rico, but Jon Heder confirmed successful 2010 that helium was “initially” lone paid $1,000 for Napoleon Dynamite.

After the irreverent drama became a sleeper hit, helium was capable to renegotiate for a portion of the profits, telling the New Zealand Herald, “They went a small spot higher.”

Djimon Hounsou

Djimon Hounsou said he’s “definitely underpaid” successful Hollywood contempt his prestigious database of credits, including Amistad and Blood Diamond.

"I've been successful this concern and making films present implicit 2 decades," the Beninese histrion told CNN’s Larry Madowo successful January 2025. "And still—with 2 Oscar nominations and been successful galore large blockbuster films—and yet I’m inactive struggling financially to marque a living."

Rebel Wilson

Rebel Wilson elaborate successful her 2024 memoir Rebel Rising that she was paid $3,500 to bash Bridesmaids, “a interest that I past had to wage straight to the Screen Actors Guild to articulation the union. So really, I got paid nothing.”

Still, she wrote, the acquisition was “everything!”

And the Australian actress’ prima roseate ever a-ca higher, with her interest going from the SAG minimum standard of $65,000 for 2012’s Pitch Perfect to $10 cardinal for 2017’s Pitch Perfect 3. Wilson wrote that she raked successful $20 cardinal full for the threequel, Isn’t It Romantic and The Hustle, though—reality alert—she “lost astir 50 percent to taxes, 10 percent to agents and 5 percent” to her lawyer. But adjacent aft those obligations and paying her publicist, concern manager and assistant, Wilson “netted what to maine was an implicit fortune.”

Ellen Pompeo

In precocious 2017, Ellen Pompeo negotiated a caller Grey’s Anatomy contract for $575,000 per episode, a seven-figure signing bonus and 2 afloat backend equity points worthy an estimated $6 cardinal to $7 million.

“I’m 48 now, truthful I’ve yet gotten to the spot wherever I’m OK asking for what I deserve, which is thing that comes lone with age,” Pompeo told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018. “Because I’m not the astir ‘relevant’ histrion retired there. I cognize that’s the manufacture cognition due to the fact that I’ve been this quality for 14 years. But the information is, anybody tin beryllium bully connected a amusement play 1 and two. Can you beryllium bully 14 years later? Now, that’s a f--kin’ skill.”

Reflecting much precocious connected how she ever made little than costar Patrick Dempsey, adjacent though she was the Grey successful question, Pompeo said she didn’t begrudge him his money.

But, she said connected a March 2025 occurrence of Call Her Daddy, “Just being that I was the namesake of the show, I deserved the aforesaid and that was harder to get. I wasn't salty astir him getting what helium got. I was salty that they didn't worth maine arsenic overmuch arsenic they valued him and they ne'er will.”

Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis recalled getting paid $2,000 a week—so $8,000 successful total—for 1978’s Halloween, her movie debut. “I mean,” she told Rotten Tomatoes successful 2018, “nobody got paid, anything.”

Yet portion the shriek queen earned 4 figures, manager John Carpenter’s person Nick Castle felt similar a king making $25 per time to stock the relation of Michael Myers. (It’s Anthony Moran whose look you spot erstwhile the killer’s disguise comes disconnected for a freaky second, and exertion Tommy Lee Wallace besides logged screentime arsenic Michael.)

“That was a batch astatine the time!” Castle, who attended movie schoolhouse astatine USC with Carpenter, told Vanity Fair in 2018. “You person to remember: My involvement successful doing the movie was being connected set, truthful I could demystify the acquisition of filmmaking and directing. I expected to bent astir the acceptable for nary money. But hey, $25 per day, and each I had to bash was deterioration a rubber mask.”

Taraji P. Henson

Taraji P. Henson earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar information for 2008’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but years aboriginal she was inactive fired up by the $150,000 she accepted to beryllium successful the movie—after producers rejected the $500,000 punctuation she brought to the table.

As for the film’s leads Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, “You don’t perceive a batch of $20 cardinal quotes anymore, but astatine this clip that was happening,” Henson said connected the Ladies First With Laura Brown podcast successful 2021. “And rightfully so—I’m not saying they shouldn’t person paid Cate and Brad what they deserved.”

But, she continued, “I’m bringing a definite magnitude to the spot excessively and I felt similar what I was asking astatine that clip successful my vocation was fair, was just to the summons income that I would lend to this large film. Wouldn’t bash it.” Henson was “gutted” erstwhile they offered $100,000, she recalled. “When it was each said and done I got $150,000, but I had to swallow my pride, baby.”

Breaking it down, “I cognize radical go, ‘$150,000, that’s a batch of money!’” Henson acknowledged. “I don’t ever privation radical to deliberation that I’m ungrateful due to the fact that that is not me.” But, she calculated, “Uncle Sam is going to instrumentality 50 percent of that, truthful present you’re near with, what? $75,000. Now earlier Uncle Sam takes the money, I person to wage my squad earlier taxes, 30 percent. So erstwhile Uncle Sam takes his 75, past I got different 30 that’s coming disconnected of that 75, truthful I whitethorn person made $40,000?”

Cate Blanchett

While Blanchett has made plentifulness of wealth implicit the years, it didn’t each travel from playing royal elf Galadriel successful The Lord of the Rings franchise, though it grossed $2.9 cardinal astatine the worldwide container office.

“Are you kidding me? No,” she retorted connected Watch What Happens Live in August 2024 erstwhile Andy Cohen guessed LOTR was her biggest paycheck. “No 1 got paid thing to bash that movie…I mean, I fundamentally got escaped sandwiches, and I got to support my ears.”

Orlando Bloom

They weren’t paid a precious amount, that is. Orlando Bloom, who played elven warrior Legolas, shared connected The Howard Stern Show successful 2023 that helium made $175,000 for the full trilogy.

Hopefully helium besides got to support his ears.