Johnny Depp
Box office earnings: $4 billionOscar nominations: 3
Few stars have had careers like Johnny Depp. The actor, who got his start as a cop on 21 Jump Street, has managed to stay unconventional by taking characters like Captain Jack Sparrow in odd directions. At the same time he's one of the biggest movie stars in the world. On top of that, the Academy loves him.
Meryl Streep
Box office earnings: $1.5 billionOscar nominations: 16
In recent years Streep has shown that an older woman can still be a big box office draw. Mamma Mia was a huge hit, earning $610 million at the global box office. Her comedies Julie & Julia and It's Complicated both did well at the box office. Next up for Streep: She'll play Margaret Thatcher in the film Iron Lady.
Robert Downey Jr.
Box office earnings: $2.5 billionOscar nominations: 2
At one point in Robert Downey Jr.'s career it looked like he might follow the drug-addled path so many other actors had gone down. But he managed to turn himself around, and he's now one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Downey is slated to play Iron Man for a third time in the 2012 film The Avengers.
Will Smith
Box office earnings: $2 billionOscar nominations: 2
Smith is arguably the biggest movie star in the world. He's been out of the spotlight recently while producing The Karate Kid, which starred his son Jaden. But he'll be back in 2012 with Men in Black 3. Smith was nominated once for playing Muhammad Ali and once for The Pursuit of Happyness.
Brad Pitt
Box office earnings: $1.7 billionOscar nominations: 2
Pitt earned his second nomination for 2008's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which was also one of his highest-grossing films of all time. Next up for the heartthrob: He'll play Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane in the movie version of Moneyball.
Cate Blanchett
Box office earnings: $1.4 billionOscar nominations: 5
Blanchett is an Oscar favorite. She seems to get a nod for almost every film she stars in, but she's only won once, for her portrayal of Katherine Hepburn in the 2004 film The Aviator. Her films also do well at theaters. The recent Robin Hood earned $312 million at the global box office.
Heath Ledger
Box office earnings: $1.4 billionOscar nominations: 2
Ledger's work as The Joker in The Dark Knight was the kind of performance that launches young actors to the next level. Sadly, he passed away before the film hit theaters. It earned him a posthumous Oscar, though, and the film brought in $1 billion at the global box office.
Matt Damon
Box office earnings: $1.4 billionOscar nominations: 3
Damon's up-and-down career has included hits like the Bourne films and flops like the recent The Informant. He won an Oscar for writing the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, which he also starred in. Next up for Damon: True Grit, which could earn him a fourth nomination.
George Clooney
Box office earnings: $1 billionOscar nominations: 5
Clooney used to have a "one-for-them, one-for-me" model of choosing films, working blockbusters like Ocean's Thirteen onto his slate. Now he seems focused only on smaller, artier films. When those are films like Up in the Air, which earned $163 million on an estimated budget of $25 million, he gets rewarded at the Oscars and at the box office.
