Who is The Highest Paid of 'Game of Thrones' Star? How Much Are They Paid Per Episode? Makes the Most Money Ever

The final season of Game of Thrones is quickly approaching. While everyone’s been so focused on which GoT character will sit on the throne (Sansa has my vote), they’ve forgotten about what these high-paid celebs will be taking to the bank.

From its record-breaking award nominations, viewer count, and runtimes, we already knew that Game of Thrones is all about big numbers. But the salaries of its biggest stars just provide further proof. HBO’s budget for Season 8 was reportedly $15 million per episode, which means the network has a lot to spend on the show’s production value—and its actors.

The biggest stars could be making over a million per episode.

The show’s five leading stars— Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister)—are believed to be earning $1.2 million per episode for Season 8, The Hollywood Reporter revealed in October 2018. That means they could be raking in around $7.2 million for a season of only six episodes. For Season 7, they were earning about $500,000 to $600,000 per episode, which Variety also reported in 2017. THR reports that the stars teamed up to negotiate higher salaries ahead of each of the final two seasons.

There’s even speculation that the GoT stars could be making even more than that. British outlet The Express reports that the five main actors could make up to $2.5 million per episode, which includes bonuses due to syndication and re-runs, per The Telegraph.

In 2017, GoT’s leading actors were in third place for Variety's ranking of highest-paid TV actors in a drama series, following Robert DeNiro ($775,000 per episode) and Mark Harmon (NCIS, $525,000 per episode.) But they’ve well surpassed those actors if the more recent estimates prove to be true.

Other stars are reportedly earning much less—but they’re still making bank.

Supporting actors like Maisie Williams (Ayra Stark), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), and Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark/The Three-Eyed Raven) are said to be making $175,000 per episode for the final season, a source told DailyMail.com. Indie Wire also reported the numbers. Before that, Williams was believed to earn $150,000 per episode, but that estimate came from the website Celebrity Net Worth.

Turner, an advocate for gender equality, doesn’t seem bothered by the massive pay disparity. “Kit [Harington] got more money than me, but he had a bigger storyline," she told Harper’s BAZAAR UK. "And for the last series, he had something crazy like 70 night shoots, and I didn’t have that many. I was like, 'You know what... you keep that money.' (Harper's Bazaar)