Depp is Hollywood's highest paid actor

Johnny Depp has been named Hollywood's highest paid actor this year. 

The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star earned £50 million (R552 million) for his role as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland'. The canny actor had a back-end deal for the film, which is just one of seven movies that have made over £640 million (R7 billion) at the worldwide box office. 

Depp is now the only actor that has two films in the so-called 'Billionaires Club' - 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' being the other.

Forbes, which conducted the list, said about the actor's box office appeal, "His ability to almost guarantee a big box office (even ‘Public Enemies’ earned $214 million) means studios are willing to pay whatever it takes to get a bit of the Depp magic."

Depp, who only came tenth last year, should be in the charts next year as well. He is earning around £15 million for Angelina Jolie thriller 'The Tourist' and is currently working on the fourth 'Pirates of the Caribbean' adventure. 

Ben Stiller came second in the charts, after earning £38 million for roles in 'Night at the Museum 2' and 'Meet the Fockers'.

Tom Hanks was third (£30 million), with Adam Sandler (£26.6 million) and Leonardo Di Caprio (£18 million) rounding out the top five.

Daniel Radcliffe is the sole British presence in the top ten. His £16 million takings saw him land in sixth place.

The rest of the top ten were Robert Downey Jr (£14.6 million), Tom Cruise 

(£14.6 million), Brad Pitt (£13 million) and George Clooney (£12.6 million).