Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is the top-earning actor for 2019. The wrestler-turned-actor raked in $89.4 million in a year, making him one of the richest celebrities, and putting him at the top of the newly released Forbes list of the highest-paid actors in the world.
His success did not come overnight. Johnson is one of the most beloved actors now, but he had to work hard to get there.
"Success isn’t always about 'greatness', it’s about consistency," he previously said about making it in Hollywood, according to GQ. "Consistent hard work gains success. Greatness will come."
Johnson's efforts have certainly paid off. According to Forbes, his role in the "Jumanji" film will earn him up to $23.5 million. Additionally, he receives up to 15% of the pool from high-grossing franchise movies.
Johnson also earns $700,000 per episode for HBO’s "Ballers" and his line of clothing with Under Armour further adds to his wealth with seven figures in royalties.
Robert Downey Jr. follows a similar pay formula, which saw the actor raking in $66 million and earning him a spot as third on the Forbes list of the ten highest-paid actors in the world.
The "Avengers" star receives $20 million upfront and cashes in on nearly 8% of the pool for his role as Iron Man. That brought in $55 million just for his work on "Avengers: Endgame."
The film went on to gross $2.796 billion at the box office, subsequently putting Chris Hemsworth, Bradley Cooper and Paul Rudd on this year’s top-earner list.
Entertainment lawyer David Chidekel told Forbes that celebrities such as Downey had the leverage to demand large compensations from studios that were investing hundreds of millions of dollars in making "tent-pole films, such as 'The Avengers series.'"
Below is the full Forbes list of the world's highest-paid actors of 2019:
10. Will Smith- Earnings: $35 million
9. Paul Rudd- Earnings: $41 million
8. Chris Evans- Earnings: $43.5 million
7. Adam Sandler: Earnings: $57 million
6. Bradley Cooper: Earnings: $57 million
5. Jackie Chan: Earnings: $58 million
4. Akshay Kumar- Earnings: $65 million
3. Robert Downey Jr.- Earnings: $66 million
2. Chris Hemsworth- Earnings: $76.4 million
1. Dwayne Johnson- Earnings: $89.4 million