Tom Hanks is regarded as one of the most popular and bankable stars in the business, with most of his starring efforts tending to turn a tidy profit. Regularly commanding a fee of $20m and above, the single biggest payday of his career came with Forrest Gump, the movie that launched him right to the very top of the Hollywood A-list, a position he has occupied ever since. With the project in danger of going over-budget, Hanks renegotiated his contracted and exchanged half of his $10m salary in return for 10% of the box office gross. This turned out to be a very wise move, for as well as being a critical success that went on to win six Academy Awards from thirteen nominations (including a second consecutive Best Actor statue for Hanks), Forrest Gump would earn an impressive $677.4m at the box office, netting the actor $70m in the process.