Charlie Sheen still TV’s highest paid actor according to Forbes

No longer on television since being fired by Chuck Lorre and Warner Bros. from Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen is still the highest paid actor on television. In fact, five of the top ten highest paid actors are no longer on television.

The list, released on Tuesday by Forbes, places Sheen at the top with $40 million. Thanks to Two and a Half Men repeats in syndication, Sheen will continue to make money off the series. He is also working on a new series based on Adam Sandler’s Anger Management film, which should allow him to continue to pull in a huge salary from television.

Reuters reports that Ashton Kutcher is being paid $16.8 million for his first season on the show, $500,000 less per episode than what Sheen made.

Number two on the list is Ray Romano, also not currently starring on television. TNT cancelled Men of a Certain Age after two seasons, but Romano has been able to make $20 million thanks to Everybody Loves Raymond repeats.

Steve Carell, who just left his role as Michael Scott on The Office made $15 million, good enough for third place. Carell will also continue to make money off the show now that it has entered syndication.

Mark Harmon is the first person on the list to still be working for television. His role on NCIS helped him earn $13 million, good enough to bring him in at number four. Jon Cryer of Two and a Half Men made $11 million, which puts him in fifth place. Also making $11 million is Laurence Fishburne, who was replaced by Ted Danson on CSI this year.

Patrick Dempsy made $10 million thanks to Gray’s Anatomy, while Simon Baker brought home $9 million for The Mentalist. House’s Hugh Laurie and Chris Meloni, who just left Law & Order: SVU, also make $9 million to round out the top ten.