JOHNNY Depp has raised the bar for Hollywood's leading actors having agreed a basic package of $38 million for his return as Captain Jack Sparrow in the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film.
Depp's staggering fee in today's economy is a guaranteed minimum for the film, On Stranger Tides, but will soar if the new Caribbean film is a huge box-office hit.
The fee jumps 46-year-old Depp ahead of the likes of Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson who demand and get around $32 million a film.
Johnny's worth has soared with Disney after Caribbean co-stars Kiera Knightley and Orlando Bloom decided to cut ties with the series after the third film.
Australian actor Geoffrey Rush will again play Captain Barbossa and Penelope Cruz is in talks to be the new female lead.
"The movie will feature flashbacks to Jack's early life,"a source told The Sun newspaper in the UK. Depp was paid $27 million for the third film, Dead Man's Chest, and stands to collect some $90 million from the four films in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
The actors who have been paid the most to be in a film are: Harrison Ford for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($68 million), Tom Hanks for Angels & Demons ($52m), Cameron Diaz for What Happens in Vegas ($51m) and Jim Carrey for Cable Guy ($41m).
