Yes, you did read that and it's apparently true. From what
Variety said, a "name-brand" actor on a sitcom can command even more than that $500K per episode. I thought the
Friends were making $1 million per ep by the end, if not more (this article from 2000 mentions
Lisa Kudrow was making $750K/episode, and that was 4 years before the series ended).
Friends is also the object lesson about why actors go for those salaries if they can get them. For the overwhelming majority of actors, lightning does not strike twice, and the money you get from one show may be what you're going to be living on for the rest of your life if the future roles don't come. When was the last time you saw any of the
Friends in something anywhere near as high-profile?
Mind you, I still think that's a whole lot of money. Just that there are justifications for it, and the paycheck for actors is different than the paychecks for regular people.
While voice-acting
The Simpsons is "just doing voices," a lot of the actors pinch-hit for other characters (Yeardley Smith being the notable exception), which is something that most other actors on sitcoms don't have to do. Voice-acting for a cartoon is also not any easier than live-action acting, and some of the constraints you get put under (like needing to act by yourself for ADR or pick-up lines) make it significantly harder.
Actually, for most voice-over actors, the real money is in promos and commercial work, not cartoons or video games. Hit the website of any major voice actor and you'll find plenty of credits for commercials. The voice actors who can make a living purely off of acting are
very few and far between, or supplement their career with on-screen roles as well. Being a voice actor isn't something you do for the money.
The Simpsons is also atypical in that I think it works more like a regular sitcom than the usual for an animated show. The actors participate in table reads and contribute to the show more, I believe.
EDIT:
This article about the actor who did the voice and mocap for Grand Theft Auto IV is another informative object lesson (free registration required, or hit
www.bugmenot.com for a login if you don't have one). A $100,000 paycheck for 15 months of work looks like a lot, until you see the
$500 million in sales that
GTAIV had in its opening week and the realization that some old guys in neckties are going to get a much bigger slice of that pie than the actor will when the neckties had absolutely nothing to do with the success of the game.
The Simpsons wouldn't be the same without the actors providing the voices, and it makes a lot of people a whole lot of money. They can afford to share.
-- Ed
