Ashton Kutcher Tops List of Highest-Paid TV Actors

Two and a Half Men is treating Ashton Kutcher pretty well -- so well that, by one measure, he's currently the highest-paid actor on the small screen.

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Forbes has released its annual highest-paid TV actors list and Kutcher topped the charts with $24 million made from May 2011 to May 2012. The magazine notes that the sitcom's ex-star, Charlie Sheen, topped the 2011 list of TV actors with $40 million. 

Kutcher is familiar with the terrain -- TV Guide named him the highest-paid TV actor last year for his $700,000 per episode Two and a Half Men payday. 

The runner-ups on this year's Forbes TV list are Hugh Laurie, who took home $18 million during House's final season, and Ray Romano, who earned the same amount. Alec Baldwin ($15 million), Mark Harmon ($15 million) and Tim Allen ($14 million) followed.

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Kutcher's Two and a Half Men co-star, Jon Cryer -- who took home the 2012 Emmy award for lead actor in a comedy -- earned $13 million. Earlier this year, the magazine released its highest paid actors list that included film stars and Tom Cruise took the crown with $75 million made.

In calculating the TV list, Forbes notes that it didn't "deduct for manager and agent fees or the other costs of being a celebrity" in its estimate of the top-earning TV stars.