When the world’s highest-paid actor was billed $60 million as a villain, 12 times more than the hero, beating Tom Cruise and Depp | Hollywood

For the past 80 years, the title of world’s highest-paid actor has typically been held by Hollywood’s top performers. In most cases, the reigning superstars of an era, or the stars of the biggest series, are the highest-paid actors in the world. The same can be said about the subject matter of this story. But there was a twist: he was the film’s antagonist and the only villain to defeat the heroes off-screen as well. (Also read: When the comedian was the world’s highest-paid actor, earning more than Shah Rukh, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp)

A time when villains were the highest-paid actors in the world.

In 1989, maverick filmmaker Tim Burton released his Batman adaptation, marking the first time Batman had appeared on the big screen since the ’60s. Partly inspired by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s The Killing Joke and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, the film starred Michael Keaton as the titular superhero. This choice was controversial, as Keaton was known for comedic roles and was not an established star. As a result, the actor had to settle for a less than luxurious salary of $5 million. Naturally, that didn’t make him a top movie star.

That honor went to Oscar winner Jack Nicholson, who played the Joker in the film. Mr. Nicholson received an upfront payment of $6 million and a profit share. Batman was a huge success, ultimately grossing over $400 million at the box office. This earned Nicholson an additional $54 million. With a salary of $60 million, Jack Nicholson became the highest-paid actor in the world, beating out Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, who were earning between $20 million and $30 million per movie at the time.

How Jack Nicholson wins over decades of young stars

Jack Nicholson was 52 years old when Batman was released. He was far from a box office success. However, Batman’s success and profit-sharing agreement propelled him to the top. Tom Cruise and Bruce Willis were the top stars in Hollywood at the time, and Johnny Depp was also aiming for stardom. Tom Cruise earned $9 million for Days of Thunder the following year, and Bruce Willis earned $7.5 million for Die Hard 2 during the same period. People like Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp earned even less. Action stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone earned more, but this was largely due to profit-sharing agreements. However, none of them could surpass Jack Nicholson’s mark. The $60 million mark was surpassed seven years later when Tom Cruise earned $70 million for the first Mission: Impossible movie. Bruce Willis became the first star to earn $100 million with the success of 1999’s The Sixth Sense.