Warning: This Article Contains Obscene Hollywood Salaries
Seeing as Game Of Thrones is one of the most expensive shows to produce ever, it doesn’t come as a surprise the on-screen talent is handsomely paid for their troubles.
Being an actor can be a tough old job, particularly on a show like GoT where death is lurking around every corner and getting ‘Stark’ naked is part and parcel of the show. With that in mind the principle cast members shouldn’t complain as Variety has revealed they are earning at least $500,000 (just over £390,560) per episode.
To put that into perspective, last year Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington and Lena Headey would have hit $5million (£3.9million) from the sixth season’s 10 episodes.
If the likes of Clarke and Harrington are making those obscene amounts from one season then it makes sense as to why the showrunners and HBO have cut season seven down to seven episodes. It still means that they’re taking away a £2.7million salary when they’re done.
The final season of Game of Thrones is due to be cut down to six episodes, but may still be the longest one yet, though it’s probably not down to the wage bill.
Now if the lead cast were making that on the longer seasons of 13 episodes, they’d be getting the same amount as what Kevin Spacey makes on House Of Cards (13 episodes at $500,000) and just over what Claire Danes earns on Homeland (12 episodes at $450,000 a pop).
If that hasn’t made you depressed about your own financial situation then you won’t be comforted by the fact that the highest paid TV-actor/actress is the legendary Robert De Niro for an Amazon series that doesn’t even have a title yet.
Currently the Taxi and The Deer Hunter actor commands an incredible £605,374 per-episode.
It’s not just the Lannisters that pay their debts.
