Television is no longer the 'poor cousin' of cinema. Gone are the days when budgets for even the biggest TV shows were a fraction of most films. Shows like Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power have upped the game considerably. But it's the regular shows - with the high ratings - that allow actors to charge a bomb as well. One of these success stories has given the current highest-paid TV actor in the world, a 61-year-old veteran who earns much more than even Hollywood stars. (Also read: World's highest-paid comedian made $81 million, had no box office hit but out-earned Tom Cruise, Hugh Jackman, Brad Pitt)
World's highest-paid TV actor
Forbes revealed the list of the highest-paid actors in the world in 2024 last month. And while some of the usual suspects topped the list (Dwayne Johnson was at #1 and Ryan Reynolds at #2), some surprises were there in the top 20 as well. At number 11 was the highest-paid TV star in the world - 61-year-old Mariska Hargitay. The actor has starred in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, the longest-running American primetime drama, for 26 years. Forbes noted that Hargitay earned $25 million net (and $25 million gross) in 2024, the highest of any TV star.
How Mariska Hargitay beat Hollywood royalty
While number 11 may not seem too high for Mariska Hargitay, it becomes clear what a feat it is for her once we see the names she beat in the list. Hollywood stars such as Jason Statham ($24 million), Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon (both $23 million), and Jake Gyllenhaal ($22 million) are all below her. Even stars of big superhero franchises such as Marvel's Scarlett Johansson ($21 million) and DCU's John Cena ($23 million), as is Tom Cruise ($15 million), arguably one of the biggest movie stars on the planet.
Just how did Mariska Hargitay achieve this? In it's citation, Forbes wrote, "As the anchor for Dick Wolf’s Law & Order: SVU for more than 20 years and 550 episodes, the 61-year-old Hargitay is the highest-paid actor on television by a wide margin. She earns an estimated $750,000 per episode between acting and producing fees, as well as a slice of the show’s considerable syndication profits."