Daily Times

Amid reports that Meghan Markle planned on returning to Suits, claims about her potential salary became rife with one expert laying bare the eye-watering amount the former actress would be slated to receive.

While the Duchess of Sussex’s agency claimed that she would not return to her former acting gig, expert Dr Heidi Astion shared that in the event Meghan returned to her role as Rachel Zane, there would be great deliberation on her remuneration considering she shed her skin as an actor and turned into a celebrity.

“If she did decide to return, we have to remember that she is no longer known as an actor but as a reality tv celebrity which places her in a different position,” she told Daily Star.

“As a somewhat divisive and controversial figure production companies and their investors will ask themselves a number of questions.”

She pondered over one of those questions which she claimed: “Are the recent high viewing figures a result of amateur sleuthing and voyeurism?”

She went on to share that investors would like need to see the impact of Meghan’s presence on screen which could largely affect the success of the the reported reboot.

“Investors will need to decide whether they think high viewing figures are due to Meghan’s presence and her relatively new-found celebrity as Harry’s wife or whether people (perhaps after reading Spare) are looking for a former royal engaged in sexual activities and in a state of undress.”

Viewers would ponder to check “whether her acting on screen matches her behaviours in interviews such as the Oprah interview.”

“Was she being authentic or was she just acting? If this is their motivation for watching, they may not be interested in seeing her acting on screen now.

“By not revealing their day-to-day life actors are better able to suspend reality in their acting, Meghan has crossed that line,” she claimed.

Speaking to about the potential income Meghan would rake in, Astion said that it was likely that she could make $1million per episode.

She added: “If voyeurism is deemed to be one of the ‘pulls’ with the current series, it is unlikely that Meghan would be willing to bare so much flesh in future productions and this could also be part of the negotiations.”

“It has been reported that ‘A’ list actors are paid up to $1million per episode, whereas jobbing actors in a leading or prominent role (such as that played by Meghan in Suits) are paid around $45,000 per episode.

“The official SAG-AFTRA rates vary according to how many episodes an actor performs in, but the range is $3,756 and $5,000 per week with different amounts for one off appearances.”