44. Lisa Kudrow
Project: Friends
Proposed Salary: $1 million per episode for final two seasons*
Outcome: Agreed
The fact that the Friends ensemble was able to join together in order to receive the compensation they deserved is something that continues to inspire some actors today. For the first couple of seasons, the salaries of the cast members were quite modest, ranging from $22,000 to $45,000. After that, the salaries increased to $28,000 to $45,000.
However, Kudrow, Perry, Aniston, Schwimmer, Cox, and LeBlanc were able to negotiate a $1 million per episode deal for the show’s final two seasons, beating the previous record of $1 million per episode. That decision will go down in history as a tribute to just how popular the Friends television series truly was.
44. Lisa Kudrow
45. Charlize Theron
Project: The Huntsman
Proposed Salary: $10 million*
Outcome: Agreed
With good reason, the gender wage gap in Hollywood has been slowly shrinking over the past few years. However, as Charlize Theron was filming The Huntsman with Chris Hemsworth, the actor who plays Thor, rumors quickly spread that he was being paid a ridiculous amount more than she was.
Charlize Theron renegotiated her contract, insisting on being paid the same amount as her male co-star. The studio agreed, and the actress was ultimately born the same amount as Chris, resulting in her going away with $10 million in her bank account. The film itself ended up grossing $165 million on a budget of $115 million, exceeding expectations.
45. Charlize Theron
