The significant difference in pay between an actor and an actress for reshoots on a film has stirred up conversation
The significant difference in pay between an actor and an actress for reshoots on a film has stirred up conversation on how to address gender wage gap in an industry as high-profile as Hollywood.
Lead actor Mark Wahlberg was paid $1.5 million for an additional 10 days’ work in the Ridley Scott movie ‘All the Money in the World’, USA Today reported.
For the same amount of work, his co-star Michelle Williams got less than $1,000.
The reshoots had to be taken after another actor, Kevin Spacey, was replaced by Christopher Plummer. Spacey had been accused of sexual misconduct.
Actress Diane Kruger attests to the wage gap that exists in show business even as she was surprised at the difference in the pay gap between Wahlberg and Williams. “I have never been paid the same as my male co-star, ever.”
The practice made her feel undervalued or easily exchangeable, she told the Associated Press, but she does not blame the actors. “It’s the studios or whoever makes the deal.”
"I think we need to be more conscious when we make deals, to be strong and stay united... where we have a coherent plan of us women, what we need to do to make this happen."
Actor Liam Neeson said “the disparity, sometimes, is (expletive) disgraceful”.
“We [men] started it, so we have to be part of the solution.” He would not take a pay cut to make things equal, but insisted there has to be parity.
Another actress, Rita Moreno, does not blame Wahlberg. "That's his business. That's what actors do — they get paid very handsomely, especially if they're big stars.”
But Williams was a big star, too – “I don’t get that,” she said.
Guillermo del Toro said he makes sure actresses on his productions are treated fairly.
"I think it's incredibly important, because the work and the profession are exactly the same," he said.
In fact, Hollywood used to recognize that -- "If you go back to the golden era of Hollywood, this is not something that was happening then. You had great actresses — Joan Crawford, Bette Davis — that were fuel for the movies, that were engines for the movies, and were treated and paid and considered in the same realm. Whenever it changed, it should change back."
Joseph Fiennes believes actresses should take action by going on strike.
"I'm reminded of Iceland, 1979, when all the women went on strike," he said. "They went on strike; they gave the babies to the men; they disappeared. The country fell down and now it's the only country in Europe that has practically parity of pay and has since had two female leaders.
