Stranger Than Fiction: Hollywood Stars Who Made Millions Playing Real People

Based On the Life of: Truman Capote 
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman 
Movie Budget: $7 million* 
Star Salary: $1 million* 

Truman Capote was a renowned novelist and playwright, with his works remaining relevant to this day. Capote tracked the author’s journey through writing his true-crime novel, In Cold Blood, which caused him personal turmoil as he struggled to separate himself from the story he was trying to tell.

Capote (2005) Philip Seymour Hoffman @Movieclips / Youtube.com | Truman Capote @AdviceToWriters / Twitter.com

The film starred the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won an Oscar for his role, disappearing into the character of Capote. The critically-acclaimed biopic, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics made a solid $50 million at the box office, recouping $43 million from what they spent on production.

Truman Capote himself is also notable for creating Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the movie that helped Audrey Hepburn become a worldwide icon worth over $77 million. The 1958 movie took $14 million against a budget of $2.5 million, which was a very significant amount at the time.

Based On the Life of: Abraham Lincoln 
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis 
Movie Budget: $65 million* 
Star Salary: $6-8 million* 

Lincoln told the story of Abraham Lincoln, the former US president who led the Union during the Civil War. The movie was directed and produced by the legendary Steven Spielberg, and the screenplay, written by Tony Kushner, was based on the book by Doris Kearns Goodwin, titled Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln (2012) Daniel Day-Lewis @BartleProfessor | Abraham Lincoln @EkataIndianCultural / Facebook.com

Daniel Day-Lewis played a tormented Lincoln, in this intense character study of an almost-mythologized man under pressure. The movie, produced by industry heavy hitters Dreamworks and 20th Century Fox, was a smash hit, bringing home $275 million at the box office.

Day-Lewis has a history of working on financially lucrative movies. He was one of the stars that made 2002’s Gangs of New York so profitable, helping it to take almost $200 million at the box office. The actor himself is worth $50 million.

Based On the Life of: Marilyn Monroe
Starring: Michelle Williams 
Movie Budget: $10 million* 
Star Salary: $400,000* 

My Week with Marilyn centered around a short period of time in the life of the iconic star Marilyn Monroe. The movie starred Michelle Williams as Monroe and Eddie Redmayne as her friend, amateur filmmaker Colin Clark, who wrote a novel about his experiences showing Monroe around London during her filming of The Prince and the Showgirl.

My Week With Marilyn (2011) Michelle Williams @ailishbri / Twitter.com | Marilyn Monroe @x_warinmymind / Twitter.com

The movie takes a look at the real Marilyn behind the veneer of the legacy she left behind. Not the glittery, glamorous, larger-than-life figure that everyone knows – but rather the real human being with personal struggles and a complex relationship with her image and fame.

By the time of her passing, Monroe was worth $7 million. It seems like a paltry figure considering just how prolific she is, but that equates to close to $60 million when adjusted for inflation. In her lifetime, Marilyn was one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars. 

Based On the Life of: Jim Morrison 
Starring: Val Kilmer 
Movie Budget: $38 million* 
Star Salary: $6 million* 

The Doors didn’t do as well as the box office as the other films on this list. It grossed just $34 million (resulting in a $4 million loss for the studio). However, the movie ended up becoming a sleeper hit over time, turning into a cult classic. The film depicted the life of the lead singer of the band The Doors, Jim Morrison.

The Doors (1991) Val Kilmer | @catholicnun420 / Twitter.com | Jim Morrison @Rakel_CR / Twitter.com

Morrison is played in the film by Val Kilmer. The film depicted the singer as a larger-than-life figure of the 1960s counterculture movement. It showed Morrison’s struggle with alcohol and drugs, as well as his macabre interest in death. The film was not well-received by the band in real life.

Val Kilmer himself has experienced somewhat of a career downturn in the years following the movie. Although he was once one of Hollywood’s golden boys, Kilmer now has a fortune of $25 million. He is set to appear in 2021’s Top Gun: Maverick, which is sure to be a financial hit.

Based On the Life of: Henry Hill
Starring: Ray Liotta 
Movie Budget: $25 million*  
Star Salary: $500,000* 

Martin Scorsese directed this epic true crime film based on the life and crimes of Henry Hill, a known mafia associate. The movie’s main character is portrayed by Ray Liotta (though Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci steal the show). The screenplay was adapted from a book called Wiseguy, written by Nicholas Pileggi.

Goodfellas (1990) Ray Liotta @_iiioq | Henry Hill @Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Produced for $25 million back in the late 1980s, and distributed by Warner Bros., Goodfellas was not only a box office success, making back $46 million and change, but cemented itself as a pillar of movie culture and pop culture at large.

Goodfellas helped to usher in future profitable mob movies too, like 1995’s Casino that took $116 million, and even Johnny Depp’s Donnie Brasco, that took $124 million. Martin Scorsese himself is now worth an astonishing $116 million, while the actors that work with him often make bank, too.

Based On the Life of: Steve Jobs 
Starring: Ashton Kutcher 
Movie Budget: $30 million* 
Star Salary: $9 million* 

Steve Jobs was a controversial figure with an equally-polemic leadership style. The biopic Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher as the tech genius, chronicles his life from 1974, when he was still a student at Reed College, up until Apple introduced the iPod back in 2001.

Jobs (2013) Ashton Kutcher @sinilem caplin / Pinterest.com | Steve Jobs @lacie1966 / Pinterest.com

Released in 2013, and distributed by Open Road Films, the movie made a gross box office sum of $42.1 million, with $6.7 million of that total coming from opening weekend. It was selected by critics to close out the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, a major honor for newcomer director Joshua Michael Stern.

What the movie itself made pales in comparison to the extraordinary wealth that Jobs managed to accumulate over his 56 years. At the time of his passing, Jobs was worth around $5 billion. The majority of his wealth was left to his wife, Laurene.

Based On the Life of: Walt Disney  
Starring: Tom Hanks 
Movie Budget: $35 million* 
Star Salary: $750,000* 

If you’re a Disney fan, this is a behind-the-scenes look at the development of one of Walt Disney’s most famous stories: Mary Poppins. Tom Hanks stars as Disney himself, while Emma Thompson stars as P.L. Travers, the writer of Mary Poppins. The movie centers around the two weeks of tense negotiations between Disney and Travers over the copyright permissions for the film.

Saving Mr. Banks Tom Hanks @Rose Kern / Pinterest.com | ©Wikimedia.org

The movie was a brilliant play for Walt Disney Pictures, which was able to capitalize on a story that they had lying around waiting to be on the big screen. With a budget of $35 million, the Tom Hanks vehicle about the making of a beloved story cherished by generations was able peddle nostalgia to the tune of $117.9 million at the box office.

That’s a pretty penny by anyone’s standards, especially when you consider the original Mary Poppins movie took $103 million back in 1964, which was an almost unheard of amount. At that time, the feature cost $4 million to make, which was a huge figure.

Based On the Life of: Johnny Cash 
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix
Movie Budget: $28 million* 
Star Salary: $5 million* 

Walk the Line is an Oscar-nominated drama starring Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix plays Johnny Cash, the legendary singer-songwriter who was one of the most famous musicians of his time. Cash went through a lot of struggles, and he wrote about them in his autobiographies, titled Man In Black and Cash: The Autobiography.

Walk the Line (2005) Joaquin Phoenix Johnny Cash @FOXHomeSpain / Twitter.com

These autobiographies were bought as the basis for this movie, distributed by 20th Century Fox, which made $187 million at the box office. In the film, we see the true story of Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter (played by Witherspoon), as well as his struggles with drug addiction and alcoholism.

Both Witherspoon and Phoenix were highly praised for their performances. Phoenix especially has gone onto some incredible things since and now has a net worth of $38 million. He also starred in the hit movie Joker in 2019, which took a phenomenal $1.074 billion, becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of all-time.

Based On the Life of: Mark Zuckerberg 
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg 
Movie Budget: $50 million* 
Star Salary: $600,000* 

The Social Network is based on a book by Ben Mezrich, called The Accidental Billionaires. It chronicles the life of Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg) and his associates/college classmates as they founded the social networking site Facebook, which would go on to earn Zuckerberg a total of $69.2 billion in net worth.

The Social Network (2010) Jesse Eisenberg @FearlessLife4U / Twitter.com | Mark Zuckerberg ©Frederic Legrand – COMEO / Shutterstock.com

The movie also explores the lawsuits filed against Zuckerberg by the Winklevoss twins (both played by Armie Hammer), who believed that their idea was stolen by the young social media mogul. It was nominated for eight Oscars, winning three of them, and made $224.9 million at the box office, money that Zuckerberg would probably sneeze at.

Zuckerberg still remains heavily involved with Facebook to this day. While some founders of companies chose to cut and run, he continues to serve as CEO and make the bulk of decisions when it comes to the company he raised from the ground up.

Based On the Life of: King George VI
Starring: Colin Firth 
Movie Budget: $15 million* 
Star Salary: $1 million* 

The King’s Speech is a heartwarming historical drama that centers around the story of King George VI. King George VI, in the movie, is not yet king. He struggles with a severe speech impediment (a stammer) that requires him to seek the help of Lionel Logue, a speech therapist with unorthodox tactics.

The King's Speech (2010) Colin Firth @ElstreeStudios / Twitter.com | King George VI ©Underwood Archives Gettyimages.com

Historical dramas are often a bigger financial risk at the box office, but with big names like Firth attached and backing from Momentum Pictures, this movie was set for success from the start. After a great showing on the festival circuit, The King’s Speech went on to amass $424 million at the box office, compared to a meager production budget of just $15 million.

When you think about just how much money the movie made, it makes its star’s salaries seem almost insignificant, however, the leading stars did get a slice of the pie. According to The Guardian, the main cast members split a $75 million share of the profits.

Based On the Life of: Erin Brockovich 
Starring: Julia Roberts 
Movie Budget: $51 million* 
Star Salary: $20 million* 

Erin Brockovich’s eponymous film won Julia Roberts an Oscar for her portrayal of the law-clerk-turned-environmental-activist. Erin Brockovich was about the case of Anderson v. Pacific Gas and Electric, a case investigated and filed by Brockovich when she was just a lowly law clerk. Brockovich had discovered that a major corporation was polluting the water of her town of Hinkley, California.

Erin Brockovich (2000) Julia Roberts @jedideath66 | Erin Brockovich @IowaStateUNews / Twitter.com

The people of Hinkley were getting sick and dying from drinking water contaminated by hexavalent chromium. The movie follows Brockovich’s fight to get people in power to take her seriously and stand up to a heartless corporation in order to save lives that were deemed less valuable than profit.

The thrilling, emotional true story certainly hit the right note with audiences who flocked to see it. Erin Brockovich took $256.3 million against a budget of $51 million, making it one of the stand-out successes of the entire year.

Based On the Life of: Frank Abagnale, Jr. 
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio 
Movie Budget: $52 million* 
Star Salary: $20 million* 

The stranger-than-fiction story of con man Frank Abagnale, Jr. inspired this hit Spielberg movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. Abagnale was a famous imposter getting away with impersonating a doctor, lawyer, and even an airline pilot, all before the age of 22.

Catch Me If You Can (2002) @Movieclips Classic Trailers / Youtube.com | Frank Abagnale, Jr. @Grayce Blair / Pinterest.com

The suspenseful romp absolutely cleaned up at the box office with its universal appeal, making over $350 million, almost half of which came from international theatergoers. Catch Me If You Can was both produced and distributed by Amblin Entertainment, Spielberg’s successful production company, of which Universal Pictures is a major investor.

Since the movie was released in 2002, DiCaprio himself has gone from strength to strength, becoming one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars. He’s helped movies like Shutter Island and The Departed make the big time, as well as 2015’s The Revenant take $533 million and finally win him that Oscar.

Based On the Life of: Chris McCandless
Starring: Emile Hirsch
Movie Budget: $15 million*  
Star Salary: $1 million* 

Emile Hirsch starred as Christopher McCandless, the son of wealthy parents who appeared to have it all. This movie was directed by actor Sean Penn, and one publication described it as his “most ambitious movie.” McCandless graduated at the top of his class at Emory University, but he chose to become a wanderer.

Into The Wild (Emile Hirsch; Chris McCandless) @turkcealtyazili / Twitter.com

He gave up his savings to charity, got rid of all his possessions, and took off into the Alaskan wilderness to find himself. The movie was based on a true story, and it was nominated for an Oscar. It won a Gotham Independent Award for Best Feature.

Based On the Life of: Ray Charles 
Starring: Jamie Foxx 
Movie Budget: $40 million* 
Star Salary: $4 million*

Ray Charles is one of the most famous blues musicians of the modern era. Charles’ nearly unbelievable life story inspired a biographical drama about him, simply titled Ray. The film was directed by Taylor Hackford and written by James L. White, telling the story of how Charles went blind at only seven years old, and yet still ruthlessly pursued a music career.

Ray (2004) Jamie Foxx @tdnewyork97 / Twitter.com | Ray Charles @donrchap / Pinterest.com

The movie, produced jointly by Bristol Bay Productions and Anvil Films with help from Baldwin Entertainment Group, had an impressive budget of $40 million. Distributed by Universal Pictures, Ray went on to make a whopping $124.7 million at the box office, and win an Oscar for Foxx.

Jamie Foxx himself has gained a very considerable fortune of over $110 million thanks to his acting and business endeavors. The star has also made a pretty penny from his work in the music business, working with artists like Kanye West and Ne-Yo.