Top end pay for an A-list movie star is one fat check. Jim Carrey banks nearly 25 million for a major studio flick. Yes the man is funny, but a recent articles asks are he and his cohorts worth it?

Here’s my thinking on actors, movie stars or otherwise: they are monkeys. Some look better in makeup or tights, some have bigger portfolios, but scratch away the nose job and the Versace and it’s usually an average person with a personality deficit in an extraordinary situation. Anyone can be an actor; there’s very little intrinsic skill necessary. Doubt this assertion? Make a beeline around 7AM for a train station and watch people wait for a NYC inbound. Misery — and other words — comes to mind, and oh there’s plenty more on their faces. Yet each one of those people piles on the train five days a week, goes to work, and convinces their boss they love the gig. Because if they miss that mark, it’s a long walk back to Jersey. And it smells bad.

Considering most people run this ruse for thirty or forty years without a hitch, I ask again, do stars have better game than the average commuter? When it’s a matter of surrvival, most everyone has the “gift”. The only difference with a professional “actor” is they might play more than one role in their lifetime. Or not. Read: Geena Davis.