Mark Wahlberg named world's top paid actor

Rapper turned actor Mark Wahlberg won his place at the top of the list compiled by Forbes magazine as the world's highest paid actor. PHOTO| AFP

By  AFP

What you need to know:

  • The 46-year-old star won his place at the top of the list compiled by Forbes magazine, thanks to earnings from Transformers: The Last Knight and comedy sequel Daddy's Home 2, due out in November.
  • Dwayne Johnson, who placed first in 2016, is in second place with Sh6.7B ($65 million), after starring in the big screen reboot of lifeguard action-comedy Baywatch and starring in HBO comedy Ballers.
  • The top ten men continue to out-earn their female counterparts by a huge margin — Sh50.4B ($488.5 million) compared with just Sh17.8B ($172.5) million — a disparity Forbes attributed in part to the preponderance of superhero movies and action blockbusters that offer few starring roles for women.

Rapper-turned-actor Mark Wahlberg was named the world's highest paid actor on Tuesday, earning an estimated Sh7.19B ($68 million) before taxes over the past 12 months.

The 46-year-old star won his place at the top of the list compiled by Forbes magazine, thanks to earnings from Transformers: The Last Knight and comedy sequel Daddy's Home 2, due out in November.

SURPASSING DWAYNE 'THE ROCK' JOHNSON

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"The former may have scored a miserable 15 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the lowest gross of the franchise to date, but Wahlberg need not worry — fixed compensation means he benefits even when movies don't do well," said Forbes.
Dwayne Johnson, who placed first in 2016, is in second place with Sh6.7B ($65 million), after starring in the big screen reboot of lifeguard action-comedy Baywatch and starring in HBO comedy Ballers.

The former wrestler appears in fantasy adventure remake Jumanji in December and Rampage, a monster movie based on the 1980s arcade game, in April next year.

The top ten men continue to out-earn their female counterparts by a huge margin — Sh50.4B ($488.5 million) compared with just Sh17.8B ($172.5) million — a disparity Forbes attributed in part to the preponderance of superhero movies and action blockbusters that offer few starring roles for women.

Oscar-winning Emma Stone, 28, topped the list of actresses published last week with a relatively modest Sh2.6B ($26 million).
Research by the University of Southern California's journalism school found last year that women comprise just 28.7 percent of all speaking roles in Hollywood.

Vin Diesel, who co-stars with Johnson in the Fast and Furious franchise, came in third on men's list with Sh5.6B ($54.5 million), just ahead of comedy actor Adam Sandler, who made Sh5.2B ($50.5 million), largely because of a deal with Netflix that allows him to produce his own movies.

Rounding out the top five is Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan, still hugely popular in China, who made Sh5.1B ($49.5 million) over the last 12 months.

Robert Downey Jr., Tom Cruise and Bollywood kings Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar rounded out the top ten.

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