World’s highest-paid actor earned $156 million for one project, several times more than Tom Cruise, Shah Rukh, Brad Pitt

Six decades ago, actors in Hollywood were first flirting with the million-dollar paycheck. Stars like Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, and Elizabeth Taylor were among the first to charge the amount for a single film. Less than two generations later, one star earned over a hundred times more, setting a record that had not been broken for over two decades. This is the story of the actor who earned a $156 million paycheck for a single film production.

Keanu Reeves broke the bank after the success of The Matrix in the late 90s. Suddenly, he was the most in-demand actor in Hollywood. Warner Bros immediately signed him for the joint production of the two sequels – Reloaded and Revolutions. For the two films (shot and produced simultaneously), Keanu received an upfront salary of $30 million, along with a share in profits and residual income promise. Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions were released in 2003, and had a combined box office haul of $1.2 billion. The two films have streamed on OTT and aired on TV multiple times. All this has taken Keanu’s earnings from the two to a staggering $156 million, the highest ever for any actor in a single production.