If a candidate comes across a movie question about “Who wants to be a millionaire?”, that usually means a tough time for television movie fans as well: of course, they could answer the question in no time if they just opened it themselves, would sit on that goddamn council chair!
When Tim Mälzer was a guest on Günther Jauch’s ever-successful quiz classic, things looked a bit different – even die-hard moviegoers should think at least twice when it comes to the movie question, which spelled the end for the celebrity chef when it came to the $250,000 question.
Jauch wanted to know the following from Mälzer:
Which of the following four actors is the most successful based on the box office earnings of all his films?
- Answer: Johnny Depp
- B: Will Smith
- C: Tom Hanks
- D: Samuel L. Jackson
Tim Mälzer leaned towards Will Smith, but he wasn’t sure enough. His prankster also typed the star of “Independence Day” – but this vague idea was not enough for the TV chef to take the huge risk of losing thousands of euros in the worst case, which he wanted to donate to charity. Happy! Because so much can be revealed immediately: Despite blockbusters like “Bad Boys”, “Men In Black” or “I Am Legend”, Will Smith is not the most successful Hollywood star of all time! But who is it then?
Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp – or is it Samuel L. Jackson?!
At first glance, any of the four stars could be the answer. All of them were in films that were huge box office hits and are now considered cinema cults. After all, Tom Hanks was Forrest Gump, the star of the second-highest-grossing film of 1994. Apollo 13 was also a huge hit a year later, surpassed only by the third Die Hard and Toy Story (in which Hanks then had a speaking role as Cowboy Woody). ). But if you take a closer look at his filmography, you’ll soon realize that one thing is missing: the major franchises that guarantee success movie after movie.
Johnny Depp does have a huge success franchise: the 60-year-old made five appearances as Captain Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, as well as Tim Burton films such as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005). ) became blockbusters. However, Depp is far from the most successful Hollywood actor.
Thanks to Marvel and Tarantino: Samuel L. Jackson is the most successful Hollywood star
So there is only one possibility left: Samuel L. Jackson! In a direct comparison, he would be much less likely to be seen in leading roles, but after all, that’s not the point – only the aggregated box office results of all previous films count here! And Jackson is clearly ahead: On the one hand, the 74-year-old shoots one movie after another – on the other hand, he can be seen in more cinema hits than almost any other star.
His role as Nick Fury alone, which he played in a total of eleven Marvel blockbusters (he just got his own series on Disney+ with “Secret Invasion”), would probably be enough to take pole position. But Jackson also starred in almost every Quentin Tarantino movie, from “Pulp Fiction” to “The Hateful 8,” he appeared in three “Star Wars” movies, and even “Jurassic Park.” No one can keep up with that!
At the time of the show, which was shown on RTL in 2020, Jackson had a total income of no less than 6.7 billion dollars. Will Smith, who was initially the favorite of both Mälzer and his phone joker, was trailing at the time with $3.3 billion!
Since all his pranksters had run out, Mälzer stopped after the movie star’s question – and was able to donate 125,000 euros to a Hamburg children’s hospice and help to the homeless.