There’s no hiding the fact that Guardians of the Galaxy is absolutely stacked with A-List actors. From Chris Pratt to Vin Diesel to Zoe Saldaña, Marvel did not hold back when padding this superhero franchise with as much star power as possible.
When the first of three films was released in 2014, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was only just starting to kick into gear; the first Avengers movie had been released just two years prior, the second and third Thor and Iron Man movies were bringing in less than stellar reviews at the box office, and then bam — James Gunn comes riding in on his white horse to light the place on fire.
The MCU’s funny bone had only been partially flexed prior to the first Guardians film. The first and second Iron Man did a pretty good job of bringing in laughs, as did Joss Whedon’s Avengers, but there’s no denying the comedic trajectory the franchise took afterward was heavily influenced by Guardians.
At the time of its release, Chris Pratt was not a household name yet, Karen Gillan was still fresh in Hollywood (although she’d been making waves across the pond for years), and French actress Pom Klementieff had only just made her American debut the year before. Today, the entire ensemble are international superstars, and the Guardians franchise is one of the most beloved Marvel films.
The films grossed nearly $2.5 billion across all three installments (not to mention other MCU films the cast appeared in) so it goes without question that the ensemble reaped lucrative benefits. Below is a ranking of each Guardians of the Galaxy’s cast members’ net worth, because who doesn’t love knowing how much money these celebs have floating in their bathtubs?
Michael Rooker ($4 million)
When Michael Rooker joined the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy as Yondu, he was by no means a newbie to Hollywood. Still, if you show someone a picture of Rooker today, they’re likely to point and shout “Hey, that’s Yondu!” According to Celebrity Net Worth, Rooker is worth a comfortable $4 million, much of which is derived from his varying roles in some of Hollywood’s most popular films including the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, the Fast and Furious franchise, and ’80s classics such as Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.
Karen Gillan ($4 million)
Karen Gillan may be near the bottom of this list but that by no means she’s not rolling around in the dough. According to Celebrity Net Worth, she is worth an impressive $4 million, $140,000 of that from just the first Guardians movie alone, per The Things. It’s unknown how much she made for playing Nebula in Guardians 2 and 3, but given her massive character development and integral role in Avengers: Endgame, it’s safe to say it was a lot more than $140,000. Before spending hours in a makeup chair to be painted blue, Gillan was best known for playing Amy Pond in the sci-fi series Doctor Who from 2010 to 2013.
Pom Klementieff ($4 million)
Like her co-star, Pom Klementieff is worth $4 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Her first appearance as Mantis was in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, of which she was likely paid a similar amount as Gillan. However, since Mantis played a far less integral role in the evolution of the MCU (that doesn’t mean we don’t love her though!) it’s impressive, to say the least, that Klementieff has a similarly-sized fortune to Gillan. Before Guardians of the Galaxy, Klementieff made her Hollywood debut in Spike Lee’s Oldboy in 2013.
Sean Gunn ($6 million)
Most people know Sean Gunn as Kraglin from Guardians of the Galaxy or Kirk from Gilmore Girls, which is kind of poetic when you think about it. The actor is the younger brother to James Gunn and is worth an estimated $6 million according to Celebrity Net Worth, a large sum of which is likely from all three Guardians films as well as several additional MCU movies such as Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder, and more. Now that James Gunn is the head of DC Studios, Sean Gunn (and several other Guardians actors) will be jumping ship to the DCU, so keep your eyes peeled.
Dave Bautista ($16 million)
Dave Bautista was pretty well known before he joined the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy, but it wasn’t for acting. The mixed martial artist and professional wrestler broke into fame when he became a six-time world champion by winning the World Heavyweight Championship four times and the WWE Championship twice. Today, he’s most known for playing the character Drax the Destroyer across all the Guardians films and several additional MCU movies. His net worth is $16 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, nearly $2 million of which is from his wrestling background alone.
Zoe Saldaña ($40 million)
It doesn’t take a genius to know why Zoe Saldaña is worth this much or where she got it from. She has appeared in four of the highest-grossing films of all time including Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Avengers: Infinity Wars, making her the first actress in history to appear in four $2 billion blockbusters. According to Celebrity Net Worth, she is worth $40 million.
Chris Pratt ($80 million)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is responsible for taking some of the most obscure actors and turning them into A-Listers, Chris Pratt being a prime example. Before playing Star-Lord across all three Guardians of the Galaxy films and several other MCU movies, Pratt had only starred in TV shows such as Parks and Recreation. Like Saldaña, he’s since starred in several billion-dollar blockbusters including Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Jurassic World franchise. As a result, he’s worth an estimated $80 million according to Celebrity Net Worth. When you think about the amount of money Saldaña brought in with her mega-hits, you have to wonder why her net worth is only half as big as Pratt’s, but we digress.
Kurt Russell ($100 million)
I mean… it’s Kurt Russell after all. Is it any surprise he would be near the top of this list? From being a child actor in shows like The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters to starring in Quentin Tarantino films such as Death Proof to headlining major franchises such as Furious 7 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2; you name it, he’s done it. Celebrity Net Worth puts his fortune at around $100 million.
Bradley Cooper ($120 million)
You don’t become one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood without a sizable fee attached to your contract. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Bradley Cooper can make as much as $20 million for a single movie, but where he really squeezes the most of his paycheck is through revenue participation, meaning he takes a smaller chunk up front in exchange for backend profit. He made $60 million alone between June 2018 and June 2019 for A Star is Born, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, which were all released back to back. His portrayal of Rocket the Racoon in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is regarded as one of his best, even if only voice acted.
Vin Diesel ($225 million)
You want to be a mega-millionaire? Just headline some of the biggest film franchises of all time. From playing Dominic Toretto in Fast and the Furious to Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vin Diesel can make as much as $50 million per year depending on how many movies he makes. Like Cooper, he makes most of his profit from backend equity, which is why he’s worth $225 million according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Sylvester Stallone ($400 Million)
Sylvester Stallone didn’t need Guardians of the Galaxy to make him rich, but it didn’t hurt either. The Rocky star is one of the most famous action stars of all time with movies that have earned more than $4 billion at the global box office. His time as Stakar Ogord, captain of the Ravagers may not have been his biggest role to date, but it was sure fun to watch. It has been reported that Stallone allegedly returned the salary he was paid to appear in Guardians, but that rumor has not been corroborated by the actor, the studio, or a credible outlet. Regardless, there’s no doubt he would have been fine either way. Topping the list of richest Guardians of the Galaxy actors, Stallone has a reported net worth of $400 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Now that’s some chunk of change.
Published: Jul 19, 2023 07:06 pm