Entertainment
Here's a Fun Analysis of Actors' Salaries Vs. Their Characters' Salaries
How much money do your favorite TV show stars make per episode? A lot, according to TV Guide's salary roundup. But while we know television actors make way more money than you and I do, just how much more than their characters are they making? Do any of their roles actually beat them in wages earned?
Here's where TV's top 12 earning actors stack up against the professions of the people they play.
Image: CBS
Kaley Cuoco as Penny in 'The Big Bang Theory'
Salary: $1,000,000 per episode
Average Character Salary (Waitress at Cheesecake Factory): $7.94 per hour
Total Time Character Would Need to Work to Compete: 125,944 hours for every one episode.
Image: CBS
Johnny Galecki as Leonard in 'The Big Bang Theory'
Salary: $1,000,000 per episode
Average Character Salary (Experimental Physicist): $90,000 per year
Total Time Character Would Need to Work to Compete: 11 years for every one episode.
Image: CBS
Jim Parsons as Sheldon in 'The Big Bang Theory'
Salary: $1,000,000 per episode
Average Character Salary (Theoretical Physicist): $78,000 per year
Total Time Character Would Need to Work to Compete: 13 years for every one episode.
Image: CBS
Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood in 'House of Cards'
Salary: $500,000 per episode (includes producer fee)
Average Character Salary (President of the United States): $400,000 per year
Total Time Character Would Need to Work to Compete: 15 months for every one episode.
Image: Netflix
Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson in 'Law & Order: SVU'
Salary: $400,000 per episode
Average Character Salary (Police Officer in charge of SVU): $75,000 per year
Total Time Character Would Need to Work to Compete: 5 years for every one episode.
Image: NBC
Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd in 'Grey's Anatomy'
Salary: $350,000 per episode
Average Character Salary (Neurosurgeon): $530,000 per year
Total Time Character Would Need to Work to Compete: 8 months for every one episode.
Image: ABC
Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey in 'Grey's Anatomy'
Salary: $350,000 per episode
Average Character Salary (General Surgeon): $222,000 per year
Total Time Character Would Need to Work to Compete: 1.6 years for every one episode.
Image: ABC
Julie Bowen as Claire Dunphy in 'Modern Family'
Salary: $190,000 per episode
Average Character Salary (Stay-at-Home Mom): $0
Total Time Character Would Need to Work to Compete: Forever
Image: ABC
Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope in 'Scandal'
Salary: $150,000 per episode
Average Character Salary (Lawyer/Crisis Manager): $77,500 per year
Total Time Character Would Need to Work to Compete: 2 years for every one episode.
Image: ABC
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer in 'Veep'
Salary: $150,000 per episode
Average Character Salary (President of the United States): $400,000 per year
Total Time Character Would Need to Work to Compete: 4.5 months for every one episode.
Image: HBO
Mindy Kaling as Mindy Lahiri in 'The Mindy Project'
Salary: $140,000 per episode (includes producer fee)
Average Character Salary (Obstetrician/Gynecologist): $200,000 per year
Total Time Character Would Need to Work to Compete: 8.4 months for every one episode.
Image: Fox
Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman in 'Orange Is the New Black'
Salary: $35,000 per episode
Average Character Salary (Electrical Shop at Litchfield Prison): $0.11 per hour
Total Time Character Would Need to Work to Compete: 318,181 hours for every one episode.
Image: Netflix
