The 10 Highest Grossing Actors of All Time

Records were made to be broken and it is no secret that Hollywood, especially, loves to break them at the box office. Being the highest grossing film of all time – a record still currently held by 2015’s revival of the Star Wars franchise, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, according to Box Office Mojo – is an honor beyond words, but only for the people involved since a feature film does not have the capacity for feelings. Thus, I consider holding the record for highest grossing actor of all time to be an even more honorable feat, securing the individual with the notion that audiences love to see their face on the big screen.   

According to The Numbers, the leader of the pack as of 2023 is Samuel L. Jackson, which is not much of a stretch considering the Academy Award nominee has been in Star Wars movies, is a staple of the best Marvel movies, and plenty more. However, which movies specifically have assured him this honor and who else can say that their movies have raked in a gargantuan amount of dough throughout their careers? We will answer those questions in our following breakdown of who are the 10 highest-grossing actors of all time, specifically counting movies in which the person appears in a major role and taking their domestic grossing into account. The Numbers' page offers a much longer list, but we're only focusing on the top 10. We shall start with Number 10. 

By Conner Schwerdtfeger, Jason Wiese

One of Chris Evans’ most notable early roles was a Marvel character – Johnny “The Human Torch” Storm in Tim Story’s Fantastic Four movies from the early 2000s. However, the superhero role that made him a box office king was Steve “Captain America” Rogers, whom he played to perfection in eight MCU installments, which make up the bulk of his more than $4 billion grossings, until retiring his iteration of the genetically enhanced super soldier in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame.

Highest Grossing Movie: Avengers: Endgame.

Bradley Cooper is one of the many actors whose biggest financial successes are the Marvel movies (in which he voices the Guardians of the Galaxy’s Rocket Raccoon), but it is not necessarily the role he is best known for. Leading the surprisingly successful comedy, 2009’s The Hangover, skyrocketed him the A-list, helping him make box office hits out of films that earned him Academy Award nominations, such as 2014’s American Sniper and his directorial debut, A Star is Born, from 2018.

Highest Grossing Movie: Avengers: Endgame.

Fitting how it took playing a god for a man with godly attributes to become a box office god. After making a financially successful debut with a small role in 2009’s Star Trek, Australian actor Chris Hemsworth just needed a blonde wig to resemble Marvel Comics’ depiction of Thor as if ripped straight from the page and implanted into the MCU, leading to an enduring career as an action star.

Highest Grossing Movie: Avengers: Endgame.

The story of Tom Cruise is one of redemption, only he had the added benefit of having already been a sensation before his career hit a rough patch in the mid 2000s. However, the daredevil star of popular action thrillers like the Mission: Impossible franchise, especially, would go on to be credited as the savior of the box office with the release of his most successful film to date, 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick – the sequel to one of his previous hits from the mid-1980s.

Highest Grossing Movie: Top Gun: Maverick

Only a handful of actors can claim to be a part of four of the most popular cinematic franchises in history, such as Zoe Saldaña. The Geek Goddess had a small, but memorable, role in 2003’s Pirates of Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, joined J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot as Uhura, was cast as Neytiri in James Cameron’s Avatar (whom she would reprise in 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water), and has starred in several Marvel movies as cosmic outlaw-turned-hero, Gamora.

Highest Grossing Movie: Avengers: Endgame.

Zoe Saldaña’s Guardians of the Galaxy co-star, Chris Pratt, is a celebrity of humble beginnings – having previously been best known for his role in the Parks and Recreation cast as Andy Dwyer. Now, much like Saldaña, he is a key factor of multiple hit movie franchises, which also include the Jurassic World movies (a continuation of Jurassic Park), The LEGO Movie and its sequel, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, for which he voiced the role of Mario in 2023.

Highest Grossing Movie: Avengers: Endgame. 

The everyman actor, Academy Award winner Tom Hanks began his career in offbeat comedies during the 1980s but eventually proved his immense dramatic chops in other great films like Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. It’s his ability to convey pathos and tragedy whilst remaining endlessly lovable that has allowed him to remain one of America’s most beloved actors. I mean, the man can carry an entire movie while talking only to a volleyball. That is acting.

Highest Grossing Movie: Toy Story 4

While she had never made a movie that surpassed $100 million domestically before she was cast as Natasha “Black Widow” Romanoff in Iron Man 2 in 2020, Scarlett Johansson at least had the advantage being one of the most acclaimed and sought after actors of her generation in the years leading up to landing that iconic role. She also voiced the slithery Kaa in Disney’s live action remake of The Jungle Book from and Ash in Sing and its sequel – accumulating into one of the most successful careers in cinematic history, and not just counting box office returns.

Highest Grossing Movie: Avengers: Endgame. 

This is probably the greatest tale of redemption on this list. Bouncing back from years of addiction and criminal activity, Robert Downey Jr. funneled equal amounts of charisma and real-life tragedy into his portrayal of Tony Stark, which ended up making him a household name. The actor’s work outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has cemented the fact that he has an inherent gift for his craft, but it’s the role as genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Iron Man that has made him a box office sensation as well as one of the highest paid actors in the world.

Highest Grossing Movie: Avengers: Endgame.

Samuel L. Jackson has been active in Hollywood ever since 1972, but it wasn’t until his role as Jules Winnefield in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction cast that he became THE Samuel L. Jackson. He has made a career out of being endlessly prolific in his work, which has allowed him to involve himself in many great movies and numerous franchises, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars – usually as the chief tough guy among whatever ensemble he is working with. His absurdly colossal filmography has served him well as the reigning box office champ.

Highest Grossing Movie: Avengers: Endgame.