Golden Globe-Nominated TV Actors With Exceptionally High Salaries

The 80^th annual Golden Globe awards will honor achievements on the big screen and on television during ceremonies in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 10.

Of course, the term television actors has taken on a rather broad meaning in recent years, as many A-list movie stars have made the transition to this smaller screen. You might assume television pays a fraction of motion-picture work, but that isn’t always the case. In fact, some of the stars with pretty big bank accounts owe much of that wealth to television.

Prepare to be impressed with how much starring on a television show can pay. Here’s a look at this year’s Golden Globes-nominated television actors with notably high salaries.

• Show nominated: “Abbott Elementary”
• Category nominated: Best Performance by a Supporting Actor, Television
• Net worth: $5 million

Tyler James Williams is one of four actors nominated for their work in “Abbott Elementary,” an ABC sitcom about the activities at a Philadelphia elementary school. He also earned an Emmy nomination in 2022 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in the series. He’s been on the Hollywood radar since childhood, when he started on “Sesame Street” at age 7 and then played a young Chris Rock in “Everybody Hates Chris.” The Things website said he earned $250,000 per episode for that role.

• Show nominated: “Ozark”
• Category nominated: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama
•  Net worth: $10 million

Laura Linney has two Golden Globe wins and eight nominations – three of them for her work in motion pictures, five in television series. The Richest estimated she earned $300,000 in “Ozark” for her role as Wendy, part of a money-laundering family in the Ozarks. Three of her nine Emmy Award nominations came for her work on the series. She has four Emmy wins, but none for “Ozark.”

• Show nominated: “The Staircase”
• Category nominated: Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series of Motion Picture Made for Television
• Net worth: $25 million

British actor Colin Firth has played the spectrum of roles throughout a long career, which includes acting in films such as “The English Patient,” “Shakespeare in Love,” “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and “The King’s Speech,” and he won an Oscar for Actor in a Leading Role for the latter. In “The Staircase,” First plays Michael Peterson, a North Carolina writer who was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, whose lifeless body was found at the bottom of the stairs in 2001.

• Show nominated: “Only Murders in the Building”
• Category nominated: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy
• Net worth: $50 million

Martin Short is one of three actors nominated for a Golden Globe for their work in “Only Murders in the Building,” and Variety reported his earnings at $600,000 per episode – or $6 million for a full season. Short started acting in his native Canada in the early 1970s, transitioned to comedy with stints with Second City in Toronto and later on “Saturday Night Live,” before moving on to the big screen.

• Show nominated: “Alaska Daily”
• Category nominated: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama
• Net worth: $70 million

Hilary Swank got her start in show business in guest roles of television series of the early 1990s and spent one season (1997-1998) as a cast member of “Beverly Hills 90210” before starring in the film that put her onto Hollywood’s A-list: “Boys Don’t Cry.” She won an Oscar for her role in that 1999 picture, then another for 2004’s “Million Dollar Baby.” On “Alaska Daily,” she portrays a New York journalist who relocates to the 49^th state. She also is an executive producer on the series.

• Show nominated: “Only Murders in the Building”
• Category nominated: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy
• Net worth: $95 million

Selena Gomez began in show business as a child, first in the cast of “Barney and Friends” and later on Disney’s “The Wizards of Waverly Place.” She continued acting but also branched out to music and other business opportunities before returning to TV on Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” alongside legends Steve Martin and Martin Short. Her paychecks have gotten bigger through the years. Parade reported she earned $3,000 for each episode of “Barney,” then $25,000 to $30,000 per “The Wizards of Waverly Place.” Parade pegged her annual salary at $7 million.

• Show nominated: “Old Man”
• Category nominated: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama
• Net worth: $100 million

Jeff Bridges, now 73, was born into an acting family, but his father – the late Lloyd Bridges – might have never seen a payday like Jeff earns for his role on “Old Man. According to Variety, Jeff Bridges earns $1 million per episode for his role as Dan Chase, a former CIA agent who has been living off the grid and then becomes a wanted man. Bridges, whose movie roles date back more than 50 years, won an Oscar for Actor in a Leading Role in 2009 for “Crazy Heart.”

• Show nominated: “The Flight Attendant”
• Category nominated: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy
• Net worth: $100 million

Kaley Cuoco played aspiring actress turned businesswoman Penny on “The Big Bang Theory” for 12 seasons and earned, at her salary peak, $1 million per episode. Insider reported that Cuoco earned $163.4 million over the course of her “Big Bang” career.

• Show nominated: : “Only Murders in the Building”
• Category nominated: Best Performance by an Actor  in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy
• Net worth: $140 million

Steve Martin joined longtime co-star Martin Short in “Only Murders in the Building,” a series based on an idea that Martin had in which he envisioned three older amateur detectives solving murders in their New York apartment building, The Hollywood Reporter said. The producer who heard the pitch loved the idea, which was altered to substitute one of the men with the character played by Selena Gomez. Like Short, Martin earns $600,000 per episode, per Variety.

• Show nominated: “Yellowstone”
• Category nominated: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama
• Net worth: $250 million

A bona fide movie star, Kevin Costner has found a second career on “Yellowstone,” where his character attempts to retain the Old West way of life in Montana. He can afford a grand lifestyle wherever he lives on his salary per episode — $1.3 million, as reported by Variety.

Jami Farkas contributed to the reporting of this article.