A new report from Feb. 27 lists some of the highest-paid television actors. Written by Matthew Belloni of Puck, the article titled "11 Burning Questions About the First Two Months of Hollywood '23" yields fascinating conclusions. Included in the story is a note about how Euphoria's Zendaya landed a pay raise from HBO. As the lead actress in the show portraying Rue, Zendaya's salary per episode now reportedly eclipses $1 million. However, Belloni also reports that she is still not the highest-earning TV actor, as that honor now goes to John Krasinski.
Krasinski, who stars as Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan reportedly earns around $2 million per episode. The Amazon Prime series just ended its third season on Dec. 21. Beginning in 2018, the show was renewed for a fourth and final season in October 2021. John Krasinski, who most notably has starred as Jim Halpert in The Office, is surely one of the main reasons the series has been able to grow such a passionate fanbase. While Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order: SVU and Ellen Pompeo of Grey's Anatomy make more per season on their shows, Krasinski makes more per episode, according to Belloni. But, there are still a few actors who come a tad bit close to Krasinski's salary.
John Krasinski's Competition
John Krasinksi currently sits atop the mountain when it comes to earnings as a TV actor. But runner-ups like Kevin Costner, Jason Sudeikis, Harrison Ford, and Helen Mirren are no slouches. Costner, who stars in Paramount's Yellowstone, reportedly makes $1.2 million per episode. In Jason Sudekis' case, the face of Apple's Ted Lasso, he too cracked the $1 million figure. This also goes for the aforementioned Ford and Mirren of 1923.
These figures are considered particularly staggering too, considering that TV contracts are typically not as lucrative as they used to be. When speaking with a source regarding the matter, Belloni reported that he was told, "$850,000 is the new $1 million." So, there's no telling what Zendaya's $1 million or Krasinski's $2 million would translate to in the heyday of cable television. Either way, though, surely none of the actors listed above are losing sleep at night about how much they rake in per episode.
