Robert Downey Jr., star of Marvel's iconic "Iron Man" film franchise, has been ranked as Hollywood's highest paid actor, according to Forbes' annual survey.
Buoyed by 2013's "Iron Man 3," which turned out to be the largest grossing movie of the year at $1.3 billion, and 2012's "Marvel's The Avengers," the third highest grossing movie of all time,
Downey made $75 million, according to Forbes.
"Hollywood is increasingly in the business of making movies with disposable actors — performers who are almost interchangeable and easily replaced," Forbes reported. "A disposable actor doesn't really have the leverage to demand a big pay hike. If there’s one actor who has proved himself in-disposable, it's Robert Downey Jr."
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"Marvel movies starring Downey have earned almost $4 billion at the global box office and millions more on home video, not to mention the millions the movies have generated in merchandise."
Former professional wrestler turned actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson came in second to Downey with $52 million, a fortune he amassed thanks to movies like the "Fast & Furious" and "G.I. Joe" franchises. He also stars in "Hercules," which hits theaters Friday.
"A smart businessman, he's also branching out into TV," Forbes noted. "'The Hero' was his first stab at reality TV. Now he's moving up to the big leagues with the HBO comedy 'Ballers.' Johnson is executive producing and starring in the comedy about a group of football players."
Other actors rounding out Forbes' top 10 list include two-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper ($46 million); "Wolf of Wall Street's" Leonardo Di Caprio ($39 million); "Thor's" Chris Hemsworth ($37 million); and Liam Neeson ($36 million).
Academy Award-winning director and soon-to-be Batman Ben Affleck also made the list with $35 million, followed by the man who last starred as the caped crusader — Christian Bale, also at $35 million. Will Smith and Mark Wahlberg, who is starring this summer in the latest "Transformers" movie, tied with $32 million apiece.
Actors who were ranked in the Forbes' top 10 in 2013 but did not make this year's list include Hugh Jackman, Channing Tatum, Adam Sandler, Tom Cruise, and Denzel Washington.
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