Hollywood's Highest Paid Actors 2014

Hollywood is increasingly in the business of making movies with disposable actors — performers who are almost interchangeable and easily replaced. The special effects and bombastic action sequences required for the modern blockbuster cost many millions of dollars. Any money studios can save by casting less-famous actors is money that can go to the bottom line. And if those actors can be easily swapped out in sequels, all the better. A disposable actor doesn’t really have the leverage to demand a big pay hike.

If there’s one actor who has proved himself in-disposable, it’s Robert Downey Jr. The actor has made millions playing Iron Man and for the second year in a row, he tops FORBES’ list of the Top Earning Actors. We estimate that Downey earned $75 million between June 2013 and June 2014, the same amount as he earned last year. This list measures only the men. We will have a separate list of the Top Earning Actresses.

Downey reigns as the highest paid man in Hollywood because at this point, it would be incredibly difficult for Marvel to continue making Iron Man andAvengers films without him. Marvel movies starring Downey have earned almost $4 billion at the global box office and millions more on home video, not to mention the millions the movies have generated in merchandise.

Rounding out our top five are:

This list looks at estimated earnings between June 2013 and June 2014. 

Robert Downey, Jr.

$75 million
Marvel has been accused of being stingy when it comes to paying the stars of its blockbuster superhero movies. But the studio (owned by Disney) is plenty generous when it comes to Downey. As Iron Man, he's been the driving force behind four of Marvel's biggest hits, including "The Avengers" which is the third highest-grossing movie of all time. He played hard to get with the upcoming "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and was rewarded with a big pay hike. Most of Downey's money this year comes from the backend of "Iron Man 3" which was the highest-grossing movie of 2013 with $1.2 billion in box office revenue.

Disney, which owns Marvel, wants to keep that gravy train going for as long as it can and like it or not, that means paying Downey whatever he demands. The actor coyly held out during negotiations for the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron and secured more money than ever upfront for the film. The movie is sure to be a huge hit and he’ll earn even more on the back end.

Downey’s Hollywood clout (he ranks 10th overall on our Celebrity 100 list which measures a mix of money and fame) has given him the power to get smaller, more personal movies made too. He helped his friend Jon Favreau get the film Chef produced and appeared in a memorable cameo in the movie. Chef has earned $25 million so far at the global box office, not bad for a tiny film.

Downey isn’t the only superhero on our list this year. Newcomer Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor, didn’t have the fame numbers to make it on the Celebrity 100 this year but he ranks 5th on our list of Top Earning Actors with $37 million. The Thor sequel, The Dark World, outearned the first Thormovie by $200 million so expect Hemsworth to be able to negotiate for more money in the inevitable  Thor 3. When he’s not playing a Norse God, Hemsworth is busy pursuing an Oscar. This year he’ll star in films by prestige directors Michael Mann and Ron Howard who directed Hemsworth in Rush.

To compile their earnings estimates, Forbes talked to agents, producers, lawyers and other in-the-know folks to figure out how much each celebrity earned from entertainment-related work between June 2013 and June 2014. They did not deduct for taxes, agent fees or the costs of being a celebrity.

Dwayne Johnson

$52 million With ensemble movies like "G.I. Joe" and "Fast and Furious," Johnson has transcended his wrestling days to become a true movie star. Now he's graduated to leading man. With "Hercules" and 2015's earthquake disaster film "San Andreas," The Rock is carrying movies on his sizable shoulders. A smart businessman, he's also branching out into TV. "The Hero" was his first stab at reality TV. Now he's moving up to the big leagues with the HBO comedy "Ballers." Johnson is executive producing and starring in the comedy about a group of football players.

Leonardo DiCaprio 

$39 million It's hard to imagine now, but "The Wolf of Wall Street" was a risk for DiCaprio. The actor had to agree to cut his upfront fee in order to get the Martin Scorsese film made. Five Oscar nominations (including for Best Actor) and $395 million later, it looks like "Wolf" was yet another good bet for the actor. DiCaprio excels at turning adult movies into box office hits. His other triumph this year was "The Great Gatsby." A surprise hit, "Gatsby" earned $351 million at the global box office.

Chris Hemsworth  $37 million

The actor category is one of the toughest on the Celebrity 100 and despite earning millions, Hemsworth just failed to make the cut. The "Thor" star isn't resting on his Marvel laurels. Look for him in movies like the upcoming "Cyber" about high-level hacking.

Liam Neeson $36 million

When Hollywood needs an actor with a certain set of skills, they turn to Neeson. With "Taken 3" on the horizon, Neeson still makes plenty of money. He just didn't have the fame numbers to rank on our Celebrity 100 this year.

Ben Affleck $35 million

Poor Ben Affleck. When Warner Bros. announced that the actor would be stepping into Batman's famous shoes, the Internet turned against him heckling the actor as completely unworthy of the role most lately made famous by Christian Bale. But Affleck might have the last laugh. He's collected a huge paycheck for the upcoming movie and could have steady work for years to come as Warner Bros. gives D.C. Comics the Marvel treatment with multiple movies lined up over the next five years.

Christian Bale $35 million

Bale has successfully moved on from playing Batman. He earned his second Oscar nomination this year for "American Hustle" and up next he's playing Moses in a big-budget version of the Bible tale -- "Exodus" from director Ridley Scott. 

Will Smith $32 million

Studios still pay Will Smith top dollar to star in their blockbusters because even when he misfires, he still brings in a huge fan base. Smith's latest film, "After Earth," barely registered in the U.S. earning only $60 million. But it did better overseas bringing in $183 million or 75% of its total global box office. Smith's most recent passion project is a new big-screen version of "Annie" starring African-American actors in many of the key roles. He produced the film with Jay-Z.

Mark Wahlberg

$32 million
Wahlberg is still collecting money from 2012's "Ted." The raunchy comedy earned $550 million in theaters on a $50 million budget. This year he showed his more serious side with "Lone Survivor." The $40 million movie brought in a healthy $150 million at the global box office. In addition to his movie work, Wahlberg has a thriving career as a TV producer. His company produced "Entourage" (soon to hit the big screen) and "Boardwalk Empire" on HBO. Now he's backing his "Pain and Gain" costar Dwayne Johnson with the football comedy "Ballers."