They are the people who light up the screen every day or each week on your TV. But how much do they get paid to make sure you are entertained or informed?
Movie heavy hitter Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the action hero who the Hollywood Reporter says “got $12 million to make Hercules,” usually commands up to $15 million for pics in his wheelhouse.
Other stars like Denzel Washington and Will Smith crush banks every time they make a movie. But how much are black actors making for starring in many of our favorite television shows?
TV Guide put out the list of highest paid actors and celebrities on the small screen. Here’s a snapshot of the African-American actors who made the list:
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Salary: $50,000 per episode
She’s baaack!!
The talented Tracee Ellis Ross plays Anthony Anderson‘s wife in ABC’s new Black-ish. It also stars Lawrence Fishburne.
It is produced by Fishbourne and executive produced by Anderson. It tells the story of an upper middle class African American man struggling to raise his children with a sense of their cultural identity.
C.C.H. Pounder, NCIS: New Orleans
Salary: $50,000
According to TV Guide, The Shield alum, CCH Pounder, rakes in $50,000 an episode for playing the role of Dr. Loretta Wade on CBS’s NCIS: New Orleans, the medical examiner for the Big Easy.
She also plays a recurring role on the hyper-popular Sons of Anarchy and will most likely be a part of the series’ final season.
Octavia Spencer, Red Band Society Salary: $75,000 per episode
Spencer’s versatility was on full display in the movie The Help, for which she earned an Oscar nomination.
Her Steven Spielberg-produced TV series Red Band Society focuses on the young occupants of a hospital pediatric ward and those who provide their medical care.
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Salary: $100,000 per episode
After appearing in movies like Romeo Must Die, hilarious funnyman Anthony Anderson has found a niche on television and is getting paid good money to pursue it.
His other famous TV project, All About The Andersons, was also well received.
Other actors making $100,000 include Andre Braugher of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Jesse L. Martin of The Flash.
Kerry Washington, Scandal
Salary: $150,000 per episode
Washington was pulling in about $80,000 for her role as Olivia Pope in the mega smash hit Scandal, and the continuing popularity upped the ante.
She is the first African American actress to play a lead in a prime-time drama since the 1960s, and the Shonda Rhimes show is a hit for ABC, averaging 8.3 million viewers each week and earning an estimated $100 million in ad revenue this season, according to Forbes.
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Salary:Â $150,000 per episode
Making the transition from the big screen to television hasn’t exactly hurt Don Cheadle’s bank account.
His role as the lead character Marty Kaan on Showtime’s House of Lies is a smash.
From the boardrooms to the bedrooms, charming, ruthless, quick-witted Marty Kaan and his team of marketing management consultants play the corporate game better with the best of them by using every dirty trick in the book to seduce powerful CEOs and close megadeals. The show is gearing up to kick off season four.
Shemar Moore, Criminal Minds
Salary: $175,000
Moore made the jump from daytime soap The Young and the Restless on CBS and hasn’t looked back.
According to the network, his feature film credits include Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Butter, Motives, The Brothers, and The Seat Filler.
The daytime Emmy Award winner has also won six NAACP awards.