Leonardo DiCaprio Agreed to $5M for One Commercial While George Clooney Rejected $35M

The movie industry might be incredibly tough, but it pays its A-listers really well. The most famous actors have tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in net worth, and with each new role, they keep climbing the paycheck ladder. But obviously, big-screen movies and even TV shows are far from the only ways for them to earn some buck.

The more popular the actor, the more status they bring to a brand associated with them. That’s why most companies are more than happy to pay ludicrous amounts of money to have Hollywood A-listers star in their commercials or even become brand ambassadors. The deals they offer to celebrities are nothing short of mind-blowing.

In 2011, Leonardo DiCaprio, who currently boasts a net worth of $300M, was seen shooting a commercial for a Chinese cell phone company. Despite having an American star and a French setting in it, the ad was only aired for the Asian market. But it only seems logical to ask: why would Leonardo DiCaprio do a cell phone ad?

The answer is simple: $5M for what’s essentially a one day’s work. The commercial has the budget of a decent movie and was shot like one, too, and the company was ready to shake its coffers down to give the iconic actor an appropriate salary.

But not all A-listers are willing to do ads even for a fortune! Well, not all ads, anyway.

George Clooney, whose net worth is currently estimated to be over $500M, once (between 2014 and 2021) rejected an offer from an airline of a country he called “questionable at times” despite it being the US’s ally. The company promised him a staggering $35M for a single day of shooting, but Clooney decided to opt-out.

“If it takes a minute’s sleep away from me, it’s not worth it,” the actor explained to The Guardian.

So apparently, a person can be rich enough to reject a $35M salary for a few hours of filming just based on the origin country of the employer — or run around Paris for $5M.

Sources: Radar Online, The Guardian