Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is top earning actor

25 August 2016

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has been named the highest-paid actor.

Dwayne Johnson

The 44-year-old former wrestler has surged up Forbes magazine's annual list after commanding $64.5 million between June 2015-June 2016, doubling his earnings from last year, and jumping up from 11th place.

A large amount of his earnings comes from roles in 'San Andreas' HBO series 'Ballers' and the 'Fast & Furious' franchise, as well as upfront fees from 'Fast 8' and 'Baywatch'.

Dwayne hopes his position will be an inspiration to others.

He tweeted: "Want to say two things about this. I started w/ $7 bucks. If I can overcome, so can you. Waffle House on me!! (sic)"

Jackie Chan again took second spot with $61 million, thanks to his popularity at the Chinese box office, while 'The Martian' star Matt Damon's $55 million earnings saw him take third place.

Tom Cruise, with $53 million, and $48 million-earning Johnny Depp rounded out the top five.

Robert Downey Jr., who had topped the list for the last three years, slipped to joint eighth position with earnings of $33 million, tying with Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.

Actor-and-director Ben Affleck placed seventh with $43 million, one place and $8 million ahead of Vin Diesel.

Akshay Kumar completed the top 10.

The figures were very different from the respective highest-paid actresses list, which was released earlier this week.

That was topped by Jennifer Lawrence, who earned $46 million, putting her below the five top-earning male stars.

Combined, the top 10 men on the list earned $457 million - more than double the top 10 women's $205 million pay.

A total of 18 actors brought in more than $20 million, whereas just four actresses did.

Forbes magazine's highest-paid actors:

1. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson -- $64,500,00

2. Jackie Chan -- $61,000,000

3. Matt Damon -- $55,000,000

4. Tom Cruise -- $53,000,000

5. Johnny Depp -- $48,000,000