We all know that we're in the midst of an incredible streaming boom. Not only are new streamers popping up at a regular clip, but in order to beat, or at the very least match, a dizzying number of competitors, these companies are paying top dollar to lure as many A-list stars to their prestige series as possible. We already knew that big screen stars (and established / beloved TV talent) like Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, and Kerry Washington were getting massive paydays, and now we also know what The Witcher star Henry Cavill is reportedly paid for all of his grunting, fighting, and bathing on the hit Netflix fantasy.
With the push at every streaming service from Netflix to Peacock, and Apple TV+ to Hulu, to gather top talent for their shows, we've seen big names make the move (or return) to the small screen for intriguing roles. These are shows that they likely hope will be buzzed about, awarded, and potentially stick around for a while, and they're reaping a major up-front benefit when it comes to how much they're paid per episode. The Witcher's Henry Cavill is no different, and a new report from Variety now says that the (possibly) erstwhile Superman pulls in $400,000 for each sword fighting-filled installment.
Lest you think this must be the top tier that anyone could be paid for starring in a television show, know that you are incorrect. The Variety piece doesn't note whether or not this is what Cavill was paid only for the first season, and if he saw any kind of raise for the (finally!) upcoming The Witcher Season 2, but he's actually at the lower end of the scale.
Kate Winslet made $650,000 per episode for HBO's Mare of Easttown, while the trio of stars (Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis) for the Sex and the City revival, And Just Like That, are each making $650K to $750K for each episode. Meanwhile, Jeff Bridges is getting a cool $1 million per episode of The Old Man for FX on Hulu, and (hold on to your butts) Chris Pratt is making an even healthier $1.4 million for each installment of his upcoming thriller, The Terminal List, for Amazon.
Apparently, this trend is unlikely to slow anytime soon, either, as each of the streamers, as well as several of their broadcast counterparts wants to remain competitive so that they nab top notch talent for their shows. And, whenever another streamer / network lands on a buzzy hit (a la the aforementioned Mare of Easttown or The Witcher), it only ramps up desire to nab the biggest names possible for whatever shows are coming up next.
If you've paid any attention to The Witcher, you'll know that Henry Cavill is certainly doing a lot of hard work to make sure the show is as good as possible and fulfills as many fan wishes as it can. He was already a huge fan of the property and loved playing the video games which have been based on the stories in The Witcher universe, so it makes a certain sense that he may not have pushed for a bigger payday to do the show (at least originally), despite his big screen success.
The actor has gleefully set out to give fans what he knows they want on The Witcher, including making Geralt's bath time as accurate as it could be, and doing loads of training and his own stunts, which led to a late 2020 injury it took him a while to fully recover from. So, Henry Cavill is definitely earning his keep in his time as our monster-fighting main man, and we can't wait to see more of that Witcher action in Season 2, when it hits Netflix on December 17.
