Dwayne Johnson Named World’s Highest Paid Actor

It’s official - Dwayne Johnson is the highest paid actor in the world.

According to Forbes, the 44-year-old ‘Fast & Furious’ star is 2016’s highest paid actor in the world… managing to muscle out Robert Downey Jr with a colossal $64.5 million.

“Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson elbowed out reigning top-ranked Robert Downey Jr. to become the world’s highest-paid actor–and scored his biggest ever annual paycheck in the process,” they revealed. “Johnson’s $64.5 million payday more than doubled his 2015 earnings, making him this year’s biggest dollar gainer.”

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But where did all that cash come from?

Apparently, his recent box office successes have driven his fees higher than ever.

“The erstwhile wrestler’s millions and millions came from upfront fees for movies including Central Intelligence and Fast 8, as well as the forthcoming Baywatch in which he’s set to play Mitch Buchannon,” they revealed. “A staple of the Fast and Furious franchise, the stellar box office performance of his recent films (including 2015’s hit San Andreas) have seen his quotes skyrocket.”

Of course, that’s great news for Dwayne Johnson… but not so much for Robert Downey Jr. Although he claimed the top spot last year, RDJ failed to make it into the top five in 2016. Instead, Johnson’s closest rival was Jackie Chan with $61 million - making huge amounts at the Chinese box office. Matt Damon came in third with $55 million, apparently largely to do with the huge success of ‘The Martian’.

“Rounding out the top five is perennial list member Tom Cruise (No. 4, $53 million) and Johnny Depp (No. 5, $48 million)”

Will Dwayne Johnson continue to dominate the box office?

For now, we’ll have to wait and see.

But with high profile projects such as ‘Baywatch’ and ‘Jumanji’ on the horizon, it looks as though he’ll continue to make a killing for the time being.

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Picture Credit: Universal Pictures, WENN.