Kevin Hart has become one of the highest paid Hollywood actors because of genius salary trick

Being a movie star is more complicated than you might think. As much as it's about the performance onscreen, it's about the negotiations beforehand.

Months before a film reaches the screen - big or small - actors and their agents work hard to make sure they're squeezing every penny out of the studio.

I mean, if you're a household name like Tom Hanks or Sandra Bullock, you're not just gonna sign up to do any old movie that comes along, are you?

However, while some stars opt for a huge payment up front, others take a different approach. One of those is Kevin Hart.

The comic is one of the biggest names in Hollywood, regularly releasing films at the cinema as well as on streaming giant Netflix.

This means that if studios want him to be the face of their next project, they're going to have to cough up.

Sony

Just a few of his most recent titles include The Man From Toronto, where he starred alongside Woody Harrelson, and Me Time, with Mark Wahlberg.

One of his biggest hits, though, was the sequel to the Jumanji reboot, Jumanji: The Next Level.

The film grossed over $800 million at the global box office, with Hart and co-star Dwayne Johnson a couple of the reasons why.

During an interview with James Corden, the 43-year-old was asked about how much he actually made.

Hart revealed that he did very well indeed because of how he structures his contracts.

Rather than taking a huge initial payment, as many actors do, he takes something from the back end.

This means that if the film turns out to be a huge success, he's in line for a decent windfall.

"If I had to do a rough guess... see, I'm a 'back end player', so it's not about what you take upfront," Hart told the host.

The Late Late Show with James Corden

"I don't want upfront money for the movie, so I took less money and hoped that the movie would find amazing success, because I'm a good partner.

"Because of the success of the movie, overall, you're probably looking at between $25m to $30m, I would say."

Not bad, eh?

He's not the only one to do this, though, there have been plenty of other big names who've used this tactic in the past.

When it came to making Forrest Gump, Hanks did the same, making around $70m overall.

Jack Nicholson is another. When he was cast as the Joker in Tim Burton's Batman, he only took a small amount upfront and made between $40m and $60m after its release.