LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (REUTERS) - George Clooney soared to the top of Forbes' annual list of the world's highest-paid actors for 2018.

Although he has not starred in a movie since 2016, Clooney earned an estimated US$239 million (S$328 million), marking the highest earnings of his 35-year career in film and television.

Clooney's on-and-off-screen earnings eclipsed Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who came in at number two with an estimated US$124 million thanks to Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle and other projects.

Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr was third on the list, with an estimated US$81 million, followed by Avengers: Infinity War actor Chris Hemsworth with US$64.5 million.

Top five mainstay Will Smith fell to number six with US$42 million.

Forbes compiled its list estimating pre-tax earnings from June 2017 to June 2018, before deducting fees for managers, based on data from Nielsen, movie database IMDB, and interviews with industry experts and celebrities themselves.