Usually, when producing movies, the cast is billed according to the importance of their role and the frequency of appearance on the screen. But, sometimes, this pay calculation is just not justifiable, and even if actors feel as though they are being underpaid, they still agree to play the part because it is crucial for the development of their career.
A similar scenario was observed by Michelle Williams during the shooting of the film, All the Money in The World. Recently, Williams revealed what she had felt when she found out about the salary being commanded by Mark Wahlberg in the same film. According to her, she was absolutely not pleased with the pay differential between her compensation and that of Wahlberg.
Being Underpaid
Michelle, who is 38 years of age, found out that Mark Wahlberg, her co-star, had been paid $1.5 million while she had only been paid a mere $1,000 for the reshoots that both the actors had been asked to do. While one may argue that perhaps both the actors do not enjoy the same level of fame, Michelle has been nominated for an Oscar four times, which means she is a very talented actress indeed.
As a result, Michelle advocated that this pay gap between genders in the entertainment industry should be minimized and all actors, regardless of their gender, should get fair compensation considering the requirements of the Paycheck Fairness Act. She joined the women of the Democratic Caucus and took part in the cause of promoting equal pay.
No Uproar on Social Media
According to Williams, she was shocked even more when no spark was produced on social media when this news came out. However, she reinforced that the social media response was not very surprising since many people have accepted differential pay as an unfortunate reality, especially women who have accepted that the roles they play will perhaps never be recognized to be as important as those being played by their male colleagues, and hence they would always be paid less.
Apparently, nobody paid heed to Williams’ call until Jessica Chastain shared her views regarding pay disparity on Twitter. After taking her permission, Jessica tweeted that Williams was paid only $80 per day for the reshoots as compared to the millions that were paid to Wahlberg.
Chastain also expressed her own sense of shock on the fact that nobody was even remotely concerned about this unfair situation. Regarding Williams’ role in the movie, Chastain remarked that Williams’ performance was outstanding, which is even more reason that she should have been paid fairly as compared to her co-actors.
Not Giving Up
Williams has also remarked that she would not be satisfied until she finds out that women are being paid fairly for their efforts, as this way women will finally recognize their self-worth. She had been fighting for the cause of equal pay long before this incident had occurred. Now, her efforts are bringing about some change in Hollywood and also opening ways for other female performers to command better compensation.
