You May Be Surprised To Learn How Much These TV Commercial Actors Actually Earned

If you saw a Sonic ad between 2004 and 2020, chances are that you’ll recognize T.J. Jagodowski. The improv comedian – along with co-star and fellow funnyman Peter Grosz – long starred in commercials for the drive-in restaurant. The pair would most often be seen sitting in a car eating the burgers, hotdogs, fountain sodas and banana splits on the eatery’s menu.

Sonic’s ads have certainly made audiences chuckle, but you’ll be surprised to learn they didn’t pad Jagodowski’s wallet that much. According to The Richest, he made about $300,000 in total over his 16 years of work with the brand. Though if you divide that up, it’s a mere $18,750 annually.

Interestingly, Wendy Kaufman apparently didn’t have any intentions of appearing on TV screens across the country. She simply worked for Snapple and was known for responding to customers’ letters to the beverage company. Her colleagues knew that she had a great personality, and, eventually, the brand’s advertising team caught wind of her reputation for being charming.

So, advertisers came up with an idea: they’d market Snapple with Kaufman’s help. The staffer would respond to fans’ letters – only this time she’d do it while cameras were rolling. The resulting series of commercials skyrocketed the company’s sales, and, for that, the unexpected star was handsomely rewarded. As per the website Bob’s Hide out, Kaufman made $100,000 a year while making the ads.

Farris Patton had no intention of becoming a TV or film star. Instead, the personality told Backstage in 2011 that she’d always dreamt of starring in ads. Patton said, “When I was a kid, my mom would watch soap operas, and I’d be watching the commercials and mimicking every single thing. Everything I did was a commercial – from brushing my teeth to taking a drink of soda.”

So, becoming the Orbit Gum Girl – the one who made dirty mouths clean – was a dream come true for Patton. She held the spokesperson role from 2010 until 2014, during which time the TV personality reportedly made a half-million dollars, according to Daily Choices. Divide it up and that’s $125,000 per year – not a bad salary at all!

You might not know Brandon Moynihan by name but, if you’ve ever seen a Hotels.com commercial, you’ll certainly remember his character’s moniker: Captain Obvious. The guy wears a full-on captain’s uniform and reads off very well-known facts as if they were life-changing pieces of new information.

The character of Captain Obvious wouldn’t work without Moynihan’s masterful deadpan delivery of his most, well, obvious lines. As such, Hotels.com rewards him for his memorable work. The website Net Worth Post estimates that he earns $180,000 per year playing the decorated seaman, which is a pretty good deal considering the commercials are his only major acting credit thus far.

You’d think that Diane Amos must have had ties to the Pine-Sol brand long before filming her first ad, right? Nope: it turns out that she had a strong background in improv comedy! But this apparently helped her embody the role of the Pine-Sol Lady – even without a lengthy history with the brand.

Amos’ first Pine-Sol ad aired in 1993, and her work made the brand more recognizable to consumers. As such, she was handsomely rewarded with a $250,000-per-year salary while she held the spokesperson job, according to Forbes. And sometimes the company brings her back for more commercial work, as it did for a 2013 Facebook post.

Reality TV fans will recognize Justin Guarini for more than just his work in Diet Dr. Pepper’s strange musical commercials. The star shot to fame in 2002 when he placed second to Kelly Clarkson on the first series of American Idol. Guarini went on to record a pair of studio albums, star on Broadway and in 2015 he became the face of the soda brand.

In the Diet Dr. Pepper ads, Guarini puts his musical chops to good use – introducing the beverage in a falsetto singing voice. For his comedic and melodic stylings, the one-time American Idol star earns the big bucks. The website Pinetworth notes that he brings home $250,000 per year in exchange for playing the tiny singer named Lil’ Sweet.

Americans might not recognize Jake Wood on the street but, if he started talking, they’d be able to place him right away. The actor was once the voice behind Geico’s famous Gecko – one entry in a long resume that includes parts on several popular British TV shows. He quit working with the insurance company in 2015 – but not before amassing a small fortune.

During his ten-year tenure as the Geico Gecko, Celebrity Net Worth notes that Wood brought home $3 million. But the TV personality claimed on Twitter that he severed ties with the car insurance company in 2015 because it wanted him to take a huge pay cut. Someone else now voices the character, which has been one of the faces of the brand for two decades now.

Football player. Fantasy TV series actor. It movie star. Isaiah Mustafa has worn many hats throughout his career. But you might recognize him first as the Old Spice Guy – the deep-voiced mythical being he played in ads for the brand throughout the 2010s.

Procter & Gamble – which owns the Old Spice brand – has seriously deep pockets. According to Statista, the company spent $4.4 billion on advertising in 2019. So, it’s no surprise that Mustafa’s stint as the Old Spice Guy earned him big bucks. Microsoft Bing notes that he made $500,000 per year over the decade in which he starred in the commercials.

Milana Vayntrub embarked on an acting career as a child, but she didn’t rise to stardom until a part in an AT&T commercial landed on her lap in 2013. It wasn’t a one-time job, mind you. She played a phone company staffer named Lily for four years, took a brief hiatus and then returned to the job in 2020.

Ahead of her 2020 return to AT&T commercials, Celebrity Net Worth estimates that Vayntrub had $2 million to her name. So, she presumably made more than $700,000 per year during her original stint as Lily. And, since then, the actress has been on TV as a recurring character on This Is Us. Not only that: she has also entered the Marvel Universe as the voice of Squirrel Girl in Marvel Rising.

When you think of Progressive commercials, Jim Cashman’s character probably isn’t the one that comes to mind. Still, his role as Flo’s sidekick Jamie has been a pretty good deal for the improv comedian. In exchange for his funny on-screen exchanges with the insurance spokeswoman, the company has certainly padded his pockets.

Cashman couldn’t have known, but his surname seems to have foretold his future as a very well paid commercial spokesperson. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the actor makes $500,000 each year as one of the faces of Progressive. Now, that’s not bad for playing a supporting role in a TV advertisement!

When you read the word “Trivago,” where does your mind go? We imagine most people would conjure up a mental image of the travel company’s spokesman. He’s known simply as The Trivago Guy, but his real name is Tim Williams. And viewers love the man – mainly because they find him to be very attractive.

Trivago knows that audiences love Williams, so it often plays up his sex appeal in its ads. Clearly, he’s made an impression on viewers – and perhaps pushed them to use the company’s services, too. That’s likely why he makes up to $700,000 per year as the star of its commercials, according to The Delite.

If you see this picture of Morgan Smith-Goodwin and instantly want a hamburger, well, then she’s done her job! The actress served as Wendy’s spokeswoman named Red for four years from 2012. She even agreed to change her appearance for the part – dyeing her hair the same color as the character’s moniker.

You’d probably let someone dye your hair for the payday that Smith-Goodwin took home during her Wendy’s tenure. Celebrity Net Worth reports that she earned up to $750,000 annually while playing the part of Red on its commercials. Now, you could buy a serious amount of cheeseburger meals with that kind of money!

Actress Stephanie Courtney landed a small part on the advertising-centric TV show Mad Men in 2007. And it would be a bit of foreshadowing for her future career. The next year, she debuted as Progressive’s spokeswoman who you know as Flo – a part she has played ever since.

Courtney has played Flo in countless TV ads and radio spots for more than a decade. In some commercials, she even performs as every single member of Flo’s family for extra comedic effect. And all of that hard work has earned her a massive annual salary. Yes, Forbes reports that she makes $800,000 per year from Progressive.

Jonathan Goldsmith had a lengthy resume that included work on both stage and screen before landing a contract with Dos Equis. But it was his part as the character of The Most Interesting Man in the World that made him a star – and a very rich one, at that.

Goldsmith earned his huge paycheck, of course. His portrayal of the debonair Most Interesting Man made Dos Equis commercials popular on the internet. The character even became a meme, which provided tons of free advertising for the brand. So, over his ten years as the brand’s spokesman, The Hollywood Reporter notes that he earned around $1 million annually.

Most car ads have a similar feel to them, as a voiceover describes the feature of a parked vehicle. But Toyota decided to give its commercials a more personal touch with improv comedian Laurel Coppock playing the part of a dealership employee named Jan. It would be her who introduced viewers to the carmaker’s newest models and deals.

Jan first appeared in a Toyota ad in 2012, and her presence must have elevated the profile of the already well-known car manufacturer. We assume so, anyway – considering how much Coppock has made for her acting work in the TV spots. The website Nicki Swift reports that Jan rakes in $1 million per year for playing the part.

In 2010 T-Mobile commercials started to feature a cute brunette in a pink dress. Her name was Carly Foulkes, and she remained the so-called T-Mobile Girl for the next three years. During that time, the TV personality’s look changed from rosy sundresses to pink-and-black leather jumpsuits, but her role as spokesperson never wavered.

During that time, Forbes notes that Foulkes brought in a whopping $1 million per year. Nowadays, the company reportedly keeps the one-time T-Mobile Girl on retainer so that she can’t do ads for any other cell phone companies. And, sometimes, it’ll have her back for a commercial or two.

Paul Marcarelli started his commercial acting career in Verizon ads. He’d famously ask people on the other end of the phone, “Can you hear me now?” – a nod to the company’s strong cell coverage. But in 2016 a competitor hired him and, at the time of writing, Marcarelli appears in Sprint ads instead.

With two major commercial contracts, Marcarelli has made some serious coin. The Hollywood Reporter claims that he earned $6,000 per commercial with Verizon. Sure, this doesn’t sound like a lot, but you need to consider how much the star filmed! Ultimately, he ended up making about $1 million a year when working with them. His Sprint salary is unknown, but we can only assume it’s at least as much as he made at his first gig…

Perhaps you know Dean Winters from the critically acclaimed HBO series Oz, on which he starred from 1997 to 2003? Or, you could have seen him on Law & Order: SVU, Sex and the City or 30 Rock. Then again, you might just recognize him as Mayhem – the problem-causing character that inspires viewers to get AllState insurance before he arrives to wreak havoc.

You’re not the only one who loves Mayhem, though. Winters himself told the Sioux City Journal that it’s “the best job I’ve ever had.” It might be down to the lucrative salary, which is estimated to be about $1 million per year. Winters makes $5,000 every time one of his spots airs in primetime, according to the website Suggest.

There are infomercials, and then there were those hosted by Billy Mays. In the 2000s he rose to the top as the man who could sell us anything via infomercials. But the late presenter was best known for marketing OxiClean. Here, May demonstrated how effective the oxygen-based cleaner was in his over-the-top on-air spots, which often aired late at night.

We don’t give Mays enough credit for the work he did with OxiClean and other niche brands. Turns out, he owned a production studio, so Mays would put together and star in ads for his clients. Doing so earned him a $1 million annual salary, as per Celebrity Net Worth, so he was clearly pretty good at his job.

Dennis Haysbert had an impressive acting resume before he became a spokesman for Allstate. The performer starred in movies such as Major League and TV series including 24. But we’re here to talk about his impressive work with the insurance company – a partnership that kicked off in 2003.

Haysbert has an air-tight contract with Allstate that says he can only appear in its ads. As such, the actor gets a very healthy paycheck in return. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he makes between $3 and $4 million per year as the company’s spokesperson. It’s not just Allstate’s customers who are “in good hands” – the firm treats its ad stars amazingly, too.