Dwayne Johnson leads Forbes list of highest-paid actors

[August 22, 2019]  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Action movie hero Dwayne Johnson, star of the "Jumanji" and "Fast and Furious" franchises, topped the annual list of the world's highest-paid actors, Forbes magazine reported on Wednesday.

Johnson, the former wrestler once known as The Rock, pulled in $89.4 million from June 2018 to June 2019, the magazine said.

That includes his salary and a share of profits from films, $700,000 per episode of HBO series "Ballers," and seven figures in royalties from his line of clothing, shoes and headphones with Under Armour.

Last year, Johnson was second behind George Clooney, who reaped a windfall from the sale of his tequila company.

Next on this year's list were two stars of "Avengers: Endgame," the highest-grossing movie of all time.

Chris Hemsworth, who played Thor, took in $76.4 million, while Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. earned $66 million, Forbes said.

Other "Endgame" stars - Bradley Cooper, Chris Evans and Paul Rudd - also landed in the top 10.

Most of Cooper's earnings, however, came from "A Star is Born," the musical drama he directed, produced, co-wrote and starred in with Lady Gaga. Cooper collected $40 million of his $57 million total from that film, Forbes said.

The fourth-biggest earner was Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, with $65 million, and Hong Kong-born actor and martial artist Jackie Chan with $58 million.

The figures are pre-tax and do not include deductions for fees given to agents, managers and lawyers, Forbes said.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

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