Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson tops Forbes' list of the 2016 world's highest paid male actors, earning 64.5 million U.S. dollars in the last year. Chinese star, martial arts and world's entertainment icon Jackie Chan lands second with $61 million from his hit films in China while "The Martian" and "Bourne" star Matt Damon raked in $55 million. The three are followed by Tom Cruise with $53 million and Johnny Depp with $48 million to complete the top 5 of the list.
From the wrestling ring to the silver screen, Johnson nabbed his highest-ever earnings, courtesy of the actor's soaring upfront fees, replacing the top placer for three years, "Iron Man" Robert Downey Jr. His $64.5 million is more than what he earned in the previous year, thanks to his movies "Central Intelligence," "Fast 8" and the upcoming "Baywatch." The Rock's 2015 hit "San Andreas" also helped skyrocket his fees, according to Forbes.
Harrison Ford returns to the list, due to the 2015 "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" where he played Han Solo. He was in the list in 2009.
Top 5 listers Cruise and Depp are perennial members of the annual list. Depp faced legal issues this year when his wife Amber Heard charged him for alleged verbal and physical abuse. The couple reached a $7 million divorce settlement in August with Heard reportedly donating the cash to charity.
Male actors outside the United States occupy a quarter of the list. Aside from Chan, stars from Bollywood likewise got high earnings, including Shah Rukh Khan ($33 million) and Akshay Kumar ($31.5 million).
Missing the cut this year is Irish actor Liam Neeson whose paycheck dropped below the $15 million entry barrier. Drop-offs include Channing Tatum, Chris Hemsworth and Seth Rogen. To come up with the list, Forbes used figures from Nielsen data, as well as that of IMDB, BoxOffice Mojo and interviews with managers, agents and lawyers.
The figures will not do much to address the issue that male actors earn much higher than their female counterparts, according to RTE. The magazine's lists of best-paid actors are divided into two lists, men and women.
In the lists of highest-paid actresses which came earlier this week, Jennifer Lawrence occupies the top spot with $46 million in the last year. Following her are Melissa McCarthy ($33 million), Scarlett Johansson ($25 million), Jennifer Anniston ($21 million) and Chinese actress Fan Bingbing ($17 million) in the top 5.
Here are some of Johnson's performances.
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