Hollywood news site Variety has a new report out that breaks down the salaries for some of the highest-profile TV roles, and included on the list are two names that have a connection to gaming. The report reveals how much money Pedro Pascal is making to play Joel on HBO’s The Last of Us and the fee that Henry Cavill is apparently getting for Netflix’s The Witcher.
According to the report, which is based on estimates provided by sources to the website, Pascal is being paid $600,000 USD per episode to appear in The Last of Us. There are 10 episodes in all, so he stands to make $6 million in total. Now, that’s pre-tax and before paying agent fees and other costs he might incur, but it’s still a big baseline payday.
As for Cavill, the report says he makes $400,000 per episode on The Witcher. The first season had eight episodes and the second will have eight as well. Assuming Cavill is paid $400,000 per episode in both seasons, he will make $6.4 million USD before taxes and fees.
The richest TV deal listed in the report goes to Chris Pratt for Amazon’s The Terminal List, which pays him $1.4 million per episode. That is a different situation, however, as Pratt is also a producer, which presumably earns him more money per episode.
These fees are so big in part because of the changing landscape. According to the report, “in the agent of streaming, cash is mostly all upfront.” Some deals might include a so-called back-end element that lets talent earn more, but this isn’t believed to be as lucrative as it once was.
For example, the famous story goes that the cast of Friends collectively bargained to be paid $1 million each per episode, in addition to sharing revenue from the show’s ongoing syndication deals. As of 2015, the show was bringing in $1 billion every year from syndication, with all the main stars making $20 million a year from that based on their 2 percent share of syndication revenue, according to USA Today.
HBO’s The Last of Us is expected to premiere in 2022, while The Witcher returns for its sophomore season this December. Variety also has a list out for the highest paid movie stars, with Daniel Craig topping the charts for the Knives Out sequels that will pay him $100 million.
