14 DAY TRIAL // It pays to be Samuel L. Jackson – or to have him star in your movie. Being one of the busiest men in showbiz (and having an average of 4 films coming out each year) means he's the highest grossing actor of all times – so says the Guinness Book of World Records.
Ever since he got started in the industry, Jackson has made over 100 movies, with a total gross of $7.4 billion (€5.2 billion), which literally makes him the most bankable star of all times.
Granted, some of these films were trashed by critics (like the much-derided “Snakes on a Plane”), while other roles amounted to mere cameos (like the many surprise under-a-minute-appearances he made in the latest Marvel movies), but that is not of the essence, as The Hollywood Reporter also points out.
“Samuel L. Jackson's movies have made more than $7.4 billion, making him the highest-grossing actor of all time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records,” THR says.
“Jackson, 63, has made more than 100 movies since debuting in Spike Lee's 1991 movie, Jungle Fever,” says the same publication.
“Jackson's Jurassic Park ($914 million [€645.7 million]), Pulp Fiction ($212 million [€149.7 million]) and the Star Wars prequels ($2.4 billion [€1.69 billion]) are among his top earners,” THR further says, explaining what makes Jackson such a bankable star.
The fact that he's done so many movies also helps a lot, obviously. “He averages four films a year. He made six in 2010, four in 2011 and will have three in 2012,” says the same e-zine.
However, that Jackson's movies made so much money doesn't mean that he's also industry's highest paid star, because that distinction went to Leonardo DiCaprio this year, as Forbes announced earlier this year.
In just one year, DiCaprio banked no less than $77 million (€54.3 million) on two films, “Shutter Island” and the blockbuster “Inception,” from director and writer Chris Nolan, as we also noted a while back.