June 13, 2025: In Hollywood, A-listers like Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., and Dwayne Johnson command jaw-dropping paychecks—often over $1 million for every minute they appear on screen. But none of them, not even Cruise at the height of his Mission: Impossible stardom, have matched what Johnny Depp pulled off more than a decade ago: a staggering $10 million per minute of screen time.
The $68 Million Cameo That Made History
In September 2008, Johnny Depp signed on to play the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Though the character was memorable and heavily featured in promotional campaigns, Depp’s actual screen time was surprisingly short—just seven minutes in a film that ran 108 minutes in total.
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Yet, Depp earned $68 million for the role.
That works out to nearly $10 million per minute—making him, by that metric, the highest-paid actor in cinematic history. For comparison, Tom Cruise reportedly made $100–120 million for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, with significantly more screen time. Robert Downey Jr. is said to be making $80 million for less than an hour in upcoming Marvel films. These figures fall well below Depp’s per-minute rate, despite their blockbuster stature.
Star Power and a Smart Gamble
What justified Depp’s enormous fee was not just his acting chops—it was his star power. Riding high on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and a series of commercial hits, Depp had become a global box office magnet. Disney and Burton bet big on him to sell Alice in Wonderland, and that bet paid off handsomely.
Despite mixed reviews, the film grossed over $1 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing live-action movie of 2010. Only Toy Story 3 performed better that year.
The Phoenix Story: Depp’s Comeback Before the Comeback
Johnny Depp’s road to this moment was anything but linear. He started as a teen heartthrob in A Nightmare on Elm Street and 21 Jump Street, but quickly pivoted to more unconventional and critically praised roles in films like Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, and Donnie Brasco. While critically admired, many of his films failed at the box office in the late ’90s and early 2000s. By 2001, after flops like Blow and From Hell, some thought his career was fading.
Then came 2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Depp’s eccentric take on Jack Sparrow turned a theme park ride adaptation into a billion-dollar franchise—and earned him an Oscar nomination. The back-to-back success of Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and more Pirates sequels cemented his return.
By the time Alice in Wonderland rolled around in 2010, Depp was no longer the “quirky indie actor”—he was Hollywood’s most bankable star. And with that, came the payday of a lifetime.