Box office is capricious—now it’s superheroes rescuing the world, now it’s an animated toy with a golden heart, and then there are those occasional memorable cameos that steal the show. But behind all those record-breaking figures are the actors whose names (and sometimes voices or faces hidden under heavy makeup) continue to bring us back to the cinema. Let’s see how the 10 highest-paid actors of all time managed to make their mark in film history.
10. Tom Cruise
Few stars yell “movie star” quite as loudly as Tom Cruise. For almost 40 years, he’s been running—literally—through hit after hit, raking in more than $16 billion globally (adjusted for inflation). From the daredevil action of Mission: Impossible to the billion-dollar blockbuster of Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise has kept people on the edge with his combination of charm, intensity, and death-defying stunts. He’s living evidence that the old-school leading man still packs plenty of box office punch.
9. Warwick Davis
Warwick Davis won’t always be identifiable under all that prosthetics, but his contribution to fantasy films is huge. Beginning with Return of the Jedi, where he was Wicket the Ewok, Davis has since been seen in Harry Potter, Willow, and many Star Wars films. Combined, his movies have garnered an estimated $17 billion at the box office worldwide. His career demonstrates that even secondary characters and heavily costumed parts can make a massive impact in film history.
8. Andy Serkis
If contemporary Hollywood has a “digital pioneer,” it’s Andy Serkis. He transformed motion capture with unforgettable performances as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, Caesar in Planet of the Apes, and even Snoke in Star Wars. As a result of his efforts to breathe life into CGI characters, his body of work has grossed more than $17 billion worldwide. Serkis may not always be on screen in the classical sense, but he’s redefined the very nature of screen acting.
7. Frank Welker
You may not know his face, but you’ve almost certainly heard Frank Welker’s voice. He’s the powerhouse behind Megatron in Transformers, Scooby-Doo, and countless creature sounds across more than 100 films. Collectively, his movies have earned over $18 billion at the box office. Welker proves that sometimes, it’s the voice behind the scenes that carries the most weight on screen.
6. John Ratzenberger
Any Pixar fanatic recognizes this man—even if they don’t recognize his name. John Ratzenberger has made a cameo in nearly every Pixar movie, providing voices for everything from Hamm the piggy bank in Toy Story to Mack the truck in Cars. With some 50 films on his resume, his films have grossed $20 billion worldwide. Toss in an unexpected Star Wars cameo way back in The Empire Strikes Back, and Ratzenberger is now Hollywood’s Easter egg king.
5. Tom Hanks
For three decades, Tom Hanks has been Hollywood’s everyman, appearing in touching dramas, epic war films, and family favorites. From Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan to providing the voice of Woody in the Toy Story series, his movies have grossed nearly $20 billion together. Hanks’s long-term success lies in his capacity to make us laugh, weep, and believe in humanity’s possibilities—all the while keeping moviegoers crowded into theaters worldwide.
4. Harrison Ford
There aren’t many stars with a more loaded resume than Harrison Ford’s. With characters such as Han Solo in Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, he’s become the face of several billion-dollar franchises. With just 50 or so movies under his belt, Ford’s body of work has raked in more than $25 billion globally. He’s the personification of nostalgia, adventure, and cinematic history all wrapped up into one.
3. Zoe Saldaña
Zoe Saldaña has quietly emerged as one of the most bankable leading ladies in Hollywood. She is the only actress to appear in two of the three top-grossing films ever, Avatar and Avengers: Endgame. Tack on her turns as Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Uhura in the Star Trek franchise, and her movies combined have grossed more than $15 billion worldwide. Saldaña’s achievements reinforce how diverse casting and strong acting can redefine box office patterns.
2. Samuel L. Jackson
With more than 140 credits to his ledger, Samuel L. Jackson is Hollywood’s most prolific box office behemoth. His work as Nick Fury in the MCU, along with a string of turns in Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and Quentin Tarantino masterpieces, has collected over $30 billion at the global box office. Jackson’s chameleon abilities—be he a wisecracking assassin or a superhero genius—are what have established him as a staple of contemporary film and a box office lead anchor.
1. Stan Lee
At the very top is none other than Stan Lee, Marvel’s co-creator and the undisputed king of cameos. His blink-and-you ll-miss-it appearances in almost every Marvel film, from Spider-Man to Avengers: Endgame, add up to a staggering $30+ billion in global box office. While his roles were usually just a few seconds long, his creative legacy as the mind behind Marvel’s heroes made him an essential part of their success. At other times, it only requires a smile and a wink to steal the show—and the box office king’s crown.
The following actors demonstrate that there is more than one path to box office dominance. With stunts, voices, motion capture, or even cameos, they’ve all managed to put their stamp on film history. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that the future box office legend could be anywhere—including buried beneath coats of CGI or simply showing up for a single iconic line.