Even after earning nearly $300M for his MCU ventures, Robert Downey Jr. was beaten by Jeremy Renner in one aspect.

Marvel actors earned some of the highest salaries in Hollywood in the last decade. While Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson became some of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, it wasn’t Iron Man or Black Widow who earned the most money per second during their time with the MCU. Jeremy Renner was paid $14,748.08 per second for his appearances in the movies, making him the highest-paid Marvel actor per second.
Jeremy Renner is the highest-paid per-second actor in the MCU
While Jeremy Renner had a comparatively lower overall salary compared to his co-stars in the MCU, his limited screen time, when compared to his salary, made him one of the highest-paid actors per second. Renner has made six appearances in the MCU, starting with Thor.

Jeremy Renner Earned More Per Second Than His Marvel Co-Stars

Jeremy Renner with his Marvel co-stars in The Avengers

A study conducted by Casino Bee aimed to find out the highest-paid Marvel actor per second. For this research, the actors’ screen time according to IMDB was calculated against their total salary for all the movies. Jeremy Renner emerged as the winner with a salary of £12,160.37 (or $14,748.08) per second in a total of 3,018 seconds (equivalent to 50 minutes) of appearance. (via The Daily Brit)

In total, Renner earned nearly $45 million from his MCU ventures. This sum is notably less than the earnings of the highest-paid Marvel actor, Robert Downey Jr., who earned over $300 million from all his movies. However, Iron Man had one of the longest screen times throughout the MCU, appearing for a total of 21,447 seconds, which is nearly 6 hours. He came second in pay-per-second earnings with a salary of $14,363.35 per second.

Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow ranked third in the pay-per-second category, with a salary of $9,151.11 for her 6,600 seconds of screen time. Interestingly, she came second only to Downey Jr. in terms of her overall salary from the MCU, as she successfully negotiated a $20 million salary by the time Avengers: Endgame and Black Widow were released. She also received additional compensation for Black Widow after a lawsuit against Disney.

How Much Did Jeremy Renner Earn From His Marvel Movies?

Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Renner has appeared in a total of six MCU films. His first appearance was in a minor role in Thor. Considering the six-figure salaries his other co-stars earned for their Marvel debuts, it can be assumed that he received a similar payment for his Thor role. According to Parade, the Wind River actor earned $3 million for his role in The Avengers.

For the second Avengers movie, Renner doubled his salary to $6 million, partly due to Robert Downey Jr.’s efforts to secure raises for his co-stars. His pay for Captain America: Civil War was even higher, and by the time he appeared in Avengers: Endgame, he was commanding a salary of $15 million. While the exact salary for his Hawkeye series is unknown, it is assumed that he got paid upfront with an amount, likely equal to or exceeding his Endgame salary.

Jeremy Renner has since moved on from Marvel projects and is currently playing the lead in Mayor of Kingstown. It is estimated that The Hurt Locker actor is paid $1 million per episode for his role as Mike McLusky. Renner’s MCU projects are available for streaming on Disney+, while Mayor of Kingstown is now available for streaming on Paramount+.