Sure, child stardom has some pretty well-documented downsides (see: Lohan, Lindsay). But if you can survive the awkward adulthood transitions, unwanted paparazzi intrusion and, on occasion, your own parents, then it can have a pretty big payoff (see: Barrymore, Drew).
As Two and a Half Men's Angus T. Jones—and his accountant—just learned.
In exchange for tolerating sharing scenes with Charlie Sheen, the teen will pocket…
…a whopping $300,000 per episode, a nice little bump up from the estimated $250,000 he was earning last season.
It's almost enough to make Frankie Muniz weep. And, you know, everyone who ever wasted four years in college. Let alone high school.
But that's not all. Li'l Angus will also pocket a $500,000 signing bonus and, since he just signed a minimum 26-episode deal with CBS, is in line to earn $7.8 million over the next couple of seasons.
That's the worst-case scenario. The best-case scenario is that Angus appears in every one of the 48 episodes the network has on order, meaning, depending on his screen time, his bank account could potentially double to a massive $14.4 million in the next two years.
Incidentally, today just so happens to be Jones' 17th birthday. Way to make the most of last year's wish, kid.
But don't direct all your jealousy Angus' way. While kids' salaries are understandably less public than their post-pubescent colleagues', it's still quite a lucrative field (of which Jones seems to be at the top of).
Also reportedly raking in the big bucks? iCarly's Miranda Cosgrove (estimated $180,000 per episode), Wizards of Waverly Place's Selena Gomez ($25,000) and The Suite Life's Cole and Dylan Sprouse ($20,000 each). But what they lack in commensurate compensation, the Disney princes and princesses more than make up for in merchandising deals.
So provided their guardians didn't graduate from the Dina Lohan School of Parenting, all should be well.