#1: Tom Cruise – $290 million from Mission: Impossible I, II, III and IV
Tom Cruise is one of the wealthiest actors in Hollywood for a reason: He almost never does a movie without taking a huge percentage of the gross profits. That has been a problem at times, especially when his movies have gone on to flop at the box office. But for the most part, Mr. Cruise has always been able to pick himself up with another hit down the road. His highest paying role far and away (no pun intended) has been that of Agent Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Cruise's production company optioned the film rights and has then produced all four movies. This allowed Tom to make $70 million off the first film, $75 off the second, $75 off the third and $70 million off the fourth. That works out to a grand total of $290 million which is the largest cumulative paycheck any actor has ever received for a single part.
