The Wealthiest Canadian Actors of 2018 Ranked by Net Worth

Posted by Doug Murray on October 9, 2018

Acting is probably one of the most difficult career choices to make. Following your passion often means years of slogging from audition to audition in between boring jobs waiting tables or bartending, all while dreaming of being on the big screen. However, when you make it big as an actor or actress, you make it really big. There are many Canadian actors who have made our country proud but does it pay the bills? In the case of the wealthiest Canadian actors of 2018, yes, it does: many times over. From Seth Rogen to Ryan Reynolds, we're revealing the net worth of these famous Canadian actors, ranked from least wealthy to most wealthy as of this year.

All figures in US dollars.

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    20. Cobie Smulders

    Like the character that made her famous, How I Met Your Mother star Cobie Smulders was born in Vancouver. She wanted to become a marine biologist but ventured into acting instead. This turned out to be a good idea: she earned $225,000 per episode of How I Met Your Mother and with subsequent roles in movies like the Avengers series, Celebrity Net Worth estimates her net worth as between $18 million and $25 million.
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    19. Martin Short

    According to The Richest, funny man Martin Short has an estimated net worth of $25 million. He’s Hamilton born and bred and graduated from McMaster University with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work. He got his big acting break on SCTV in the early 1980s. Then he became a household name internationally on Saturday Night Live and with movies like The Three Amigos.
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    18. Kelly Rowan

    Kelly Rowan was born in Ottawa and graduated from high school in Toronto. Modelling, TV movies and guest starring in various TV series paid the bills until 2003, when she became one of the world’s most recognizable TV moms as Kirsten Cohen in The O.C.

    She came close to being one of those celebrities who married billionaires, having been engaged to – and having a child with – David Thomson of Thomson Reuters fame. Celebrity Net Worth says she has an estimated net worth of $25 million.
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    17. Sandra Oh

    In 2018, Sandra Oh made history as the first actress of Asian descent to be nominated for a lead actress Emmy. She has already won numerous awards for her supporting roles in Sideways and Grey’s Anatomy. The Richest says that this Ottawa native – the daughter of Korean immigrants – has a net worth of $25 million. Killing Eve has been renewed for a second series, so the star’s bank balance may just get a big boost in the near future.
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    16. Jennifer Tilly

    Jennifer Tilly was born in Los Angeles but grew up on Texada Island, BC and in Victoria. Like her sister Meg, she has won numerous acting awards but, like other stars who have made more money in business than from their day jobs, acting isn’t her only source of income. She’s a professional poker player too and has won nearly $1 million playing live tournaments. Celebrity Net Worth estimates her net worth at $25 million.
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    15. Seth Rogen

    Seth Rogen started his comedy career as a teenager, with stand-up performances in Vancouver, the city where he was born and bred. When he was 16, he landed a part in Freaks and Geeks and moved from Hollywood North to the real thing, becoming his family’s main breadwinner. His career has gone from strength to strength and today, according to Celebrity Net Worth, he has around $55 million to his name.
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    14. Donald Sutherland

    Kiefer Sutherland’s dad is a renowned actor himself, with an illustrious career that has earned him multiple awards and has made him an Officer of the Order of Canada. Donald Sutherland was born in Saint John, New Brunswick and went to high school in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. He graduated university with a double major in engineering and acting. While engineering could have given him one of the highest paying jobs in the world, he hasn’t done too badly from acting. According to Bankrate, he's worth an estimated $60 million.
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    13. Ryan Gosling

    Thanks to La La Land, which earned him a Golden Globe win and an Oscar nomination, Ryan Gosling was one of 2017’s highest paid actors, according to the Daily Mail. The actor and musician hails from Ontario: he was born in London and lived in Cornwall and Burlington. His showbiz break came with The Mickey Mouse Club when he was 12 and for which he moved to Florida for two years. His net worth these days is an estimated $60 million.
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    12. Michael J. Fox

    Edmonton is the birthplace of one of Canada’s most beloved actors: so beloved that he has a theatre named after him at his old high school in Burnaby, BC. Michael J. Fox needs no introduction, of course: Back to the Future, Family Ties and Spin City made him one of the most famous actors of the 1980s and 1990s. His acting, writing and producing career has also earned him a net worth of $65 million, according to The Richest.
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    11. Kiefer Sutherland

    Kiefer Sutherland was born into Canadian acting royalty: his dad is Donald Sutherland and his mom is Shirley Douglas. He was born in London, England, where his parents were working at the time. He grew up mainly in Toronto and attended several schools, including one of the most expensive private schools in Canada, St. Andrews College.

    He starred in numerous hit movies in the 1980s and 1990s. Then, in 2001, he became Agent Jack Bauer in 24: a role which earned him $250,000 per episode and numerous awards, including a Golden Globe and an Emmy. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he has around $75 million to his name.
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    10. Ryan Reynolds

    According to Wealthy Gorilla, Ryan Reynolds has a net worth of $75 million. The Deadpool actor, also known for being Mr. Blake Lively, hails from Vancouver. While he lives in Bedford, New York these days, he’s never forgotten his roots. He has one of the best Twitter accounts in Canada, with the Twitter handle @VancityReynolds.
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    9. Matthew Perry

    Even though he was born in Massachusetts, Matthew Perry grew up in Ottawa. Perry moved to Los Angeles when he was 15 and cut his acting teeth on guest roles in several TV series. It was as Chandler in Friends that he became famous: so famous that in the final season of the hit series, he earned $1.6 million per episode. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he now has an estimated $80 million to his name.
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    8. Howie Mandel

    These days, Howie Mandel is best known as a judge on America’s Got Talent. However, he has an acting and stand-up comedy career that goes all the way back to the late 1970s, when he appeared at Yuk Yuk’s in his native Toronto. For most of the 1980s, he and co-stars like Denzel Washington, Mark Harmon and Ed Begley Jr. had people glued to their TV sets with the medical drama St. Elsewhere. According to The Richest, he's worth an estimated $80 million.
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    7. William Shatner

    He was cop T.J. Hooker in the series of the same name and attorney Denny Crane in The Practice and Boston Legal and is an Officer of the Order of Canada but William Shatner will always be otherwise known as Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the starship USS Enterprise.

    The legendary actor, author, producer and recording artist hails from Montreal and has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University. His career has made him very wealthy indeed but according to The Richest, a big chunk of his $100 million net worth comes from the shares he took as part of his payment for work on a Priceline.com TV campaign.
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    6. Dan Aykroyd

    Dan Aykroyd’s parents knew that Ottawa is one of the best Canadian cities to be in summer, because this is where the future Member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario was born on Canada Day, then still called Dominion Day, in 1952.

    Aykroyd wanted to become a priest but luckily decided on a career in comedy instead. He won writing and acting Emmy Awards for his work on Saturday Night Live and was nominated for an Oscar for Driving Miss Daisy. He appeared in many hit movies, such as The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters. However, part of his net worth of $135 million, as estimated by Celebrity Net Worth, comes from his business ventures. These include the House of Blues restaurant chain and Crystal Head Vodka.
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    5. Jim Carrey

    As a 10-year-old, Jim Carrey wrote to comedienne Carol Burnett to say that he should be considered for a role on The Carol Burnett Show because he was great at doing impressions. He never got a break on the show but after finishing high school in Burlington, he worked as a stand-up comedian in Toronto’s comedy clubs.

    In 1994 he stormed onto the big screen and into worldwide fame with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber. Since then he has become one of the highest paid actors in the world and has built up a fortune of $150 million, according to Wealthy Gorilla.
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    4. Mike Myers

    Canada has given the world some of the funniest of funny men but only one has given us new slang terms like shagadelic. Mike Myers hails from the suburbs of Toronto and started appearing in commercials when he was two years old. He made it big on Saturday Night Live and had us all headbanging to “Bohemian Rhapsody” in Wayne’s World.

    Austin Powers sealed his international reputation and Shrek made him – or at least his voice – instantly recognizable to millions of kids. In 2017, Myers was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. The Richest says he has a fortune of $175 million.
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    3. Dwayne Johnson

    On a list of surprising Canadian celebrities, few names are quite as unexpected as that of Dwayne Johnson. Yes, The Rock became a Canadian citizen in 2009 and now holds dual citizenship! His father hails from Nova Scotia. The Rock’s acting fame only came later in life.

    After graduating from the University of Miami with a bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Physiology, he played professional football with the Calgary Stampeders and then embarked on an illustrious wrestling career. His first acting job was in an episode of That ‘70s Show, where he played professional wrestler Rocky Johnson, his father. He’s since become one of Hollywood’s highest paid actors and, according to GoBankingRates, he has a net worth of $220 million.
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    2. Keanu Reeves

    He was born in Beirut to an American father and an English mother but if Keanu Reeves says he’s Canadian, who are we to argue? He grew up mainly in Toronto and started acting as a child. His first movie role came in 1985 but it was with Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure that he became a teen heartthrob.

    Speed made him a household name and for The Matrix he got one of the biggest movie star paydays of all time. He’s not only an actor and musician but an entrepreneur too: he co-founded production company Company Films as well as Arch Motorcycle Company, which builds custom motorcycles. According to Wealthy Gorilla, the famously down-to-earth star is worth $360 million.
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    1. James Cameron

    Yes, we know he’s actually a famous director but James Cameron has also appeared in cameo roles in most of his movies. For example, in Avatar, one of the most expensive movies ever made, you can hear his voice on the radio as the human forces attack Hometree, so we’ll give him credit as an actor too.

    Cameron was born and raised in Ontario but when he was 17, his family moved to California. His first big movie was The Terminator, in which he also played a hotel clerk. With Titanic, he traded in his director’s fee of $8 million for back-end profits and made more than $650 million instead. Making blockbusters has earned him a net worth of around $700 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
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