It's common wisdom that we're living in a golden age of television. Shows like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and Scandal are as good, if not better, than anything showing at your local multiplex. Some of our biggest actors, like Matthew McConaughey, Halle Berry and Dwayne Johnson have chosen to do TV shows. TV is arguably more exciting and creative than it's ever been.
But there a downside to TV for big movie stars -- they can't earn as much money.
Forbes just released its latest Celebrity 100 list and for the first time, the list is strictly money based. This year stars were ranked purely on earnings. In the past, the list has been based on a mixture of earnings and fame. (Full disclosure: I used to edit the list.) That meant that someone who earned less money but had a lot of fame could rise on the list. Last year there were five TV actors and five TV actresses on the list.
This year there is one TV actor (Jim Parsons with $29 million) and two TV actresses (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting and Sofia Vergara, each with $28.5 million) on the Celebrity 100. No other TV actors earned enough to rank.
Plenty of TV hosts made the list. Ellen DeGeneres, Dr. Phil and David Letterman are among the ten "personalities" on the Celebrity 100 this year. But people like Kevin Spacey (House of Cards) and Kerry Washington (Scandal) are nowhere to be seen.
There is a connection between the quality on TV and the low paydays. Vin Diesel ranks 43rd overall on the list with $47 million in earnings. But most of that money comes from the Fast & Furious franchise. While those films are undeniably a lot of fun, they don't require Diesel to do much more than look buff and scowl behind the wheel.
Diesel has tried to do more serious work. In 2006 he put on a bad hair piece and a suit to play Jack DiNorscio in the film Find Me Guilty. DiNorscio was a real-life gangster who defended himself in court and the film was directed by one of the most respected directors in Hollywood, Sidney Lumet.
But the movie only earned $2.6 million at the box office. Yari Film Group, the small independent company that distributed the film, barely had any budget to promote the movie and it only ever opened in 439 theaters.
If Diesel had instead looked for a quality project to do on TV, say a short-run HBO show, he would have earned less money than he would on a Fast & Furious movie but he would have had a show that millions of people (maybe) would have watched and he would have been supported by a company that would push for him to earn an Emmy nomination.
That kind of prestige is worth more than money to many actors. With the proliferation of outlets producing original content (Netflix, AMC, Hulu etc.) there are more opportunities than ever for actors to do good, complicated work. A service like Netflix stands out because of the quality of its shows. Right now, everyone wants to be known for making great content. In TV it's not about bigger, louder, dumber, it's about smarter, sharper and more compelling. The TV race to quality will keep actors coming to TV, even if they don't earn the big bucks on the small screen.
Some actors move to TV because their film careers have dried up and some move to TV to round out their resumes and stretch themselves as actors. As long as great people keep working in TV, it's good for fans.
