LOS ANGELES, Aug 23 — Rapper-turned-actor Mark Wahlberg was named the world’s highest paid actor yesterday, earning an estimated US$68 million (RM291 million) before taxes over the past 12 months.

The 46-year-old star won his place at the top of the list compiled by Forbes magazine, thanks to earnings from Transformers: The Last Knight and comedy sequel Daddy’s Home 2, due out in November.

"The former may have scored a miserable 15 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the lowest gross of the franchise to date, but Wahlberg need not worry — fixed compensation means he benefits even when movies don’t do well,” said Forbes.

Dwayne Johnson, who placed first in 2016, is in second place with US$65 million, after starring in the big screen reboot of lifeguard action-comedy Baywatch and starring in HBO comedy Ballers.

The former wrestler appears in fantasy adventure remake Jumanji in December and Rampage, a monster movie based on the 1980s arcade game, in April next year.

The top 10 men continue to out-earn their female counterparts by a huge margin — US$488.5 million compared with just US$172.5 million — a disparity Forbes attributed in part to the preponderance of superhero movies and action blockbusters that offer few starring roles for women.

Oscar-winning Emma Stone, 28, topped the list of actresses published last week with a relatively modest US$26 million.

Research by the University of Southern California’s journalism school found last year that women comprise just 28.7 percent of all speaking roles in Hollywood.

Vin Diesel, who co-stars with Johnson in the Fast and Furious franchise, came in third on men’s list with US$54.5 million, just ahead of comedy actor Adam Sandler, who made US$50.5 million, largely because of a deal with Netflix that allows him to produce his own movies.

Rounding out the top five is Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan, still hugely popular in China, who made US$49.5 million over the last 12 months.

Robert Downey Jr, Tom Cruise and Bollywood kings Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar rounded out the top 10. — AFP