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Do Sheen and Heigl Deserve TV's Biggest Bucks?
Charlie Sheen by Greg Gayne/Warner Bros. Television. All Rights Reserved/CBS, Katherine Heigl by Bob D'Amico/ABC
A new survey by Forbes Magazine names Charlie Sheen and Katherine Heigl as TV's best-paid actors. The Two and a Half Men cut-up earned $20 million in 2007, while Heigl pulled in $13 mil for her rotation on Grey's Anatomy. (It would seem the quality of her boss' paychecks was up to snuff, yes.)
Of course, that's all parking valet tip money compared to what their counterparts in the movie biz are taking home. Will Smith was the big screen's biggest earner for the year, depositing $80 million into his bank account. Among the men, he was followed by Johnny Depp (a bargain at $72 mil) and Eddie Murphy (overpriced at $55 mil).
Cameron Diaz was Hollywood's best-paid actress for 2007, earning $50 mil. Keira Knightley placed No. 2 with $32 mil, followed by Jennifer Aniston ($27 mil).
In the category of "media personalities," Oprah of course dominated, raking in $275 million for the year.
What's your take? Who delivers the best value for the greenbacks? — Matt Mitovich
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Jul 23, 2008 8:59 AM
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Like Katherine deserves this much money for Grey's???? Come on. Izzie can go tomorrow and I wouldn't miss her a bit. Unbelievable! I can't believe how good they are to her and all she does is b*tch and moan and groan. ACK!
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Jul 23, 2008 9:48 AM
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People earn what their employers think they're worth - while I'm snorting at the idea of Charlie Sheen being worth that much, and not agreeing with the idea of Heigl being worth more than her costars (and I do love her), those shows are both very highly rated and their bosses clearly have a vested interest in keeping them around. If they were lower rated shows, they definitely would not be commanding that much.
A whole separate issue arises in wondering if ANY of these actors and actresses should be earning more than people like teachers and firefighters, but that's an age old complaint that unfortunately will probably persist.
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Jul 23, 2008 10:52 AM
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The fact that Heigl gets paid that much makes what she said even worse. Well, in order for Grey's to get what they paid for, they have to make Izzie crazy(er). It wouldn't be fair for her to play normal and get paid 13 mil. 
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Jul 23, 2008 10:55 AM
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Well I would say none of these should be highest paid, definitely not for TV.
Maybe Will Smith maybe should be the highest paid movie star, but not THAT high.
Man I used to consider myself middle class, but now I probably don't even qualify for that.
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Jul 23, 2008 11:11 AM
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Wait...is Heigl making more than Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey, and Sandra Oh? That can't be right.
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Jul 23, 2008 11:27 AM
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I agree somethingreal81. "Something in the milk ain't clean". I wonder if TR is the second highest paid on the show...
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Jul 23, 2008 11:28 AM
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Steve Carell probably deserves the most TV bucks. He is one of the few actors on tv who is actually an A-list movie star. He's probably losing money doing "The Office" because he could be making more movies.
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Jul 23, 2008 11:59 AM
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I agree somethingreal81. "Something in the milk ain't clean". I wonder if TR is the second highest paid on the show...
The highest paid people are probably those who are being lured by the prospect of a lucrative movie career. TR Knight has not had any smash hit blockbusters while on Grey's, and therefore his bosses probably aren't saying, "Well, what can we do to make sure he feels that staying is worth his time?"
PD is probably next in line, since he's definitely had his luck in that faux-Disney movie, can't remember what it was. Whoever can say "Well, I don't really need Grey's anymore" has more bargaining power.
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Jul 23, 2008 12:01 PM
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heigl getting that much dough is a joke. she's routinely outshined by many of her grey's anatomy co-stars, but it's her public blasting of grey's writers as well as judd apatow and co. after "knocked up" that really sours me on her. someone should give heigl's money to seth rogen and tell her to find some talent.
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Jul 23, 2008 12:11 PM
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Like Katherine deserves this much money for Grey's???? Come on. Izzie can go tomorrow and I wouldn't miss her a bit. ... I can't believe how good they are to her and all she does is b*tch and moan and groan.
I have to agree with this. And really (or should I say "seriously"?), If Heigl left Grey's tomorrow, I sincerely doubt her movie career would last very long. "A pretty face may last a year or two..."
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Jul 23, 2008 12:13 PM
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Heigl gets paid the most (of the women at least) on Greys?! Wasn't there some article awhile ago about her bitching about not getting paid enough? And shouldn't Ellen Pompeo be getting paid more, since it is GREY'S Anatomy after all? Not to mention, there are a plethora of female tv stars who deserve to be payed more than Heigl. And Charlie Sheen?! So not worth all that money. Again, there are a plethora of male tv stars who do much better work and should be paid more than him. That's ridiculous.
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Jul 23, 2008 12:33 PM
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I can not imagine that so many people are continually so harsh about Heigl. Her comments did not seem to be based in anger so much as truth and, even if it were, she raises a valid point. Aside from Patrick Dempsey, she is the most recognizable star of the show and her material last year was horrible. An Entertainment Weekly columnist recently wrote an article (http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20213980,00.html) that talks about this situation.
A woman who thinks AND speaks her mind?! What is she THINKING?!
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Jul 23, 2008 12:41 PM
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I can't believe Heigl is being paid that much. Is it really only for Grey's? I would think Ellen Pompeo would be getting the highest paycheck on that show.
I think Hugh Laurie should be up there, he's in almost every scene of his hour-long show!
And also, what is Jennifer Aniston getting paid that much for? I haven't seen her in a film for at least a year.
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Jul 23, 2008 12:44 PM
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And yet when Grey's Anatomy started - Katherine Heigl was the only person who I recognized and was in fact the reason I tuned in.
While I doubt her stint on Roswell caused a whole lot of people to tune in - she did have a slightly bigger name to begin with than most of the others on Grey's - so her share would have been larger, I would think, to begin with - as they've all gotten raises because its a hit show - then it would make sense that she would still be making more than the others...
I've always considered that people in the entertainment business work 24-7 because we viewers tend to think that what goes on behind the scenes is just as important as what goes on in front of the screens - so let's see - a regular joe gets paid regular wages for 40 hours - time and a half for 41-80 and double time for 81+ - so lets say an actor gets paid $100/hr - my _very_ rough estimations means they would get $1,680,000 a year. Goodness...that means they are getting paid something like $300 an hour. Wow.... That's mindboggling.
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Jul 23, 2008 12:53 PM
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