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The X-Men franchise originally launched in 2000 and fans have enjoyed a star-studded cast and action packed series for the past two decades. Some, like A-lister Hugh Jackman have had a reoccurring role since its inception and starred in spin-offs such as 2013’s “The Wolverine”. Other characters have seen changes such as Rebecca Romjin’s Mystique character replaced with Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique in more recent films.
Still others, like Ryan Reynolds has starred as Weapon X in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and then gone on to star in a super successful spin-off, Deadpool.
Regardless of appearing in the X-Men feature films once or dozens of times, many of the key players have a net worth to boast about and the box office numbers for X-Men films, proves a spot in the franchise will prove to be beneficial.
Famke Janssen – $20 Million
She plays Jean Grey (Phoenix) in the X-Men franchise, her most famous role to date. She reprised the role in 2003’s “X2” and again in 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand” among others. After her role in X-Men, Janssen played Lenore “Lenny” Mills in the “Taken” franchise and went on to appear in television series’ “Nip/Tuck” and “How to Get Away with Murder”.
Michael Fassbender – $30 Million
In 2001, Fassbender took up the torch for Ian McKellen in the X-Men franchise playing villain, Magneto. According to Wealthy Genius, it was Fassbender in “X-Men: First Class” that reinvigorated the franchise and helped boost the film series to the blockbuster it is today. He starred in three more X-Men films, including “X-Men: Days of Future Past”, “X-Men: Apocalypse” and “X-Men: Dark Phoenix”.
Jessica Chastain – $50 Million
Though her first role in the franchise as Vuk and Margaret Smith – a woman Vuk impersonates in 2019’s “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” didn’t turn out so well; the film debuted as the second lowest-grossing film in the franchise, it just goes to show the X-Men popularity can still pull in A-list actors and actresses today. Chastain has shown her skill in a variety of roles, from 2011’s “The Help” to 2020’s “Ava”. The actress has won more than 80 awards for her work over the years, including a Golden Globe for “Zero Dark Thirty” as Best Performance by an Actress.
Patrick Stewart – $70 Million
The “Star Trek” star plays Professor Charles Xavier (Professor X) opposite good friend, Ian McKellen as his enemy Erik Lehnsherr a.k.a. Magneto. According to MSN, the pair have reprised their roles in at least four other films in the franchise (seven for Stewart) and went on to star together in “Two Plays in Rep”. Stewart’s career has been blessed with long-term roles. When he signed on for the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard in 1987, he planned to be with “Star Trek” for no more than a year. That year became more than 30.
Halle Berry – $90 Million
According to The Things, Berry starred as Storm in the original X-Men film and appeared in four films in the franchise over the years. In 2001, she was reunited with co-star Jackman in “Swordfish” and later, won an Oscar for “Monster’s Ball”. She was the first African American actress to win an Academy Award for Best Actress. Though Berry has seemingly slowed down in the past few years, she signed a Revlon endorsement deal in 1996 and the contract is said to pay her $10 million annually.
Ryan Reynolds – $150 Million
You might not think of Reynolds as a part of the X-Men team, however, he played Weapon X in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and went on to take the lead in 2016’s “Deadpool”. Coincidentally, Reynolds is one of the few stars to break into roles in both Marvel and DC films, (2011’s “Green Lantern”). “Deadpool” set box office records with the largest opening weekend of 2016. It was followed by “Deadpool 2” in 2017 and “Deadpool 3” is on the horizon.
Jennifer Lawrence – $160 Million
Lawrence replaced actress Rebecca Romjin as shape-shifter Mystique in 2011’s “X-Men: First Class”. Perhaps her biggest role to date is as Katniss Everdeen in the “Hunger Games” trilogy, and she went on to earn an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress in “Silver Linings Playbook”. Throughout her career, Lawrence continued to star in the X-Men franchise, including 2019’s “Dark Phoenix”.
Hugh Jackman – $180 Million
We’ve seen him in romantic comedies (“Kate & Leopold 2001) and gritty, action films (“Swordfish” 2001) but according to Celebrity Net Worth, it was “X-Men” that made Jackman a star. The film was a box-office success and earned Jackman a Saturn Award for Best Actor. Reprising his role as Wolverine from 2000 to 2017, Jackman also earned a Guinness World Record for “Longest career as a live-action Marvel superhero”.
Sources: Wealthy Genius , MSN, The Things, Celebrity Net Worth