Ryan Dunn

By PAUL THOMPSON

Nice work if you can get it: Simon Baker will be paid £280,000 per episode for The Mentalist, eclipsing Hugh Laurie's £258,000 per episode for U.S. show House

Actor Simon Baker will shoot to the top of the highest paid actors on U.S. TV with a new deal that will net him an estimated pds280,000 for each episode of The Mentalist.

The Australian star will eclipse Hugh Laurie in House and Laurence Fishburn in CSI as the top paid actors in a drama series.

Baker had been receiving £180,000 for each episode of the hit crime series in which he plays a psychic with unusual powers of observation.

As well as solving crimes he is also hunting for a serial killer called Red John who killed his wife and family.

Hollywood insiders said the new deal is worth up to £20m and guarantees Baker will stay with the show for another three seasons.

Pay rise: The Australian actor had been receiving £180,000 for each episode of the crime series in which he plays a psychic with unusual powers of observation

As part of the new pay package being negotiated with Warner Bros television Baker will get a producer credit on the show.

He will also get a slice of any profits from syndicating the show to other TV stations in the U.S. and worldwide.

The Mentalist, which began in 2008, is one of the most popular shows on US TV and is also screened on Channel Five in the UK.

Hit show: British actor Laurie in the American drama series House

Top comedy earner: Charlie Sheen earns £800,000 per episode for Two And A Half Men

The new deal will see Baker,41, on an estimated £6.5m a year.

It means British star Hugh Laurie has lost his place at the top of the list of highest paid TV dramatic actors.

The 51 year old was the top paid TV star earning just over £258,000 per episode of House.

All three TV actors have a long way to go before they can surpass top comedy earner Charlie Sheen who makes £800,000 per episode of Two and a Half Men.

Baker,who owns two homes in Australia but spends most of his time in Los Angeles with his wife, Rebecca Rigg and three children, began his career on the soap Home and Away.

He also appeared in LA Confidential, but The Mentalist marked his breakthrough role on U.S. TV.

The Mentalist