Jared Leto Surprisingly Earned More Money Per Minute As Joker Than One Of The Highest Paid Dcu Stars Will Smith

Jared Leto made an eye-watering amount of money per minute for his highly criticized role as Joker.

After Heath Ledger’s role as the iconic Joker, it was difficult for any actor to fill in his shoes. This is probably why, when Jared Leto was signed for the role of the Clown Prince of Gotham in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, his appearance was brutally slammed. But, that didn’t affect the actor’s salary.

Jared Leto

Apparently, despite how badly his role as Joker was criticized, Jared Leto made an eye-watering amount from his DC appearance. Earning millions of dollars per minute, the actor ended up turning into one of the highest-paid actors in the DC universe. Leto’s paycheck was surprisingly way more than even Will Smith’s.

Jared Leto’s Role as Joker Suffered Brutal Criticism

Until Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight introduced fans to Heath Ledger‘s Joker, Jack Nicholson’s version was considered the most iconic one. Thus, it took a great deal of power and commitment for Nolan to entrust his faith to Ledger for the role of the Clown Prince of Gotham. And undoubtedly, the actor didn’t fail to live up to the director’s expectations.

Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight

Despite initially facing criticism for stepping into Jack Nicholson‘s role, Heath Ledger turned into the new face of Joker after the 2008 movie that earned him an Oscar, posthumously. Following Ledger’s role, when Jared Leto was signed as the Joker in David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, fans were again holding back and having second thoughts about Leto’s capabilities.

Jared Leto as The Joker in Suicide Squad (2016)

Nonetheless, this time, unlike Heath Ledger, Jared Leto failed to impress the audience with his role as Batman’s nemesis. But given that he had high expectations upon him, and only 7 minutes of screentime to prove his worth, it was sort of difficult for the actor. In the end, although Suicide Squad turned into a box office bonanza, Leto was slammed for his version of Joker.

Jared Letoʼs Hefty Salary for His Role as DC’s Joker

However, despite the intense criticism surrounding Jared Leto‘s role as Joker, the actor didn’t fail to bag an eye-watering amount of salary for his performance. Irrespective of how Leto’s role impacted the 2016 movie, the actor made millions of dollars per minute. According to WatchMojo, Leto got a payday worth $7M for his role.

Leto was brutally criticized for his role as The Joker

Now, it might seem less than his co-star Will Smith, who bagged $20M for his role as Deadshot, but considering Jared Leto’s 7-minute screentime, the actor apparently earned $1M per minute for his role. This seems a bit unjust, since Leto failed to impress the audience despite his massive paycheck.

Leto made $7M for his 7 minutes role as the Joker

According to reports, Jared Leto had the privilege of negotiating due to his 2013 Oscar win. Considering the fact that the actor won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, he turned into a big deal for DC. Willing to star an Oscar-winning actor, the studio thus agreed to pay $7M for his 7-minute role. This turned him into one of the highest-paid DC actors of all time.