The Highest-Paid TV Actor of 2014 Is...
by Andy Neuenschwander"Two and a Half Men" might be ending after next season, but Ashton Kutcher still has something to celebrate.
Kutcher tops the list of the highest-paid television actors of 2014, according to Forbes. The list takes a number of factors into account, including payment for other acting work in addition to the star's TV show earnings.
So, how much did Kutcher have to make in order to be #1? A cool $26 million, it seems, which includes earnings from his endorsement deals. His co-star, Jon Cryer, comes in at #2 with $19 million, proving that CBS has more money than God.
There's more good news for CBS: In at #3 (but really tied with Cryer) is "NCIS" star Mark Harmon with $19 million, followed by "How I Met Your Mother" star Neil Patrick Harris at $18 million.
Breaking up the CBS streak is Netflix, whose star Kevin Spacey earned $16 million for his work on "House of Cards" and an endorsement deal or two. Tying Spacey is Patrick Dempsey, who's raking in the big bucks as a long-running cast member of "Grey's Anatomy."
Tim Allen comes in at #7 with a hefty $15 million, followed by three CBS mainstays: Simon Baker ("The Mentalist," $13 million), Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki ($12 million and $11 million, both for "The Big Bang Theory").
The list will change dramatically next year, thanks to both "Two and a Half Men" and "How I Met Your Mother" ending. Even more influential will be the new deal that "The Big Bang Theory" stars knocked out with CBS, giving them each $1 million per episode and putting them well over $20 million based on their show earnings alone.