Jessica Chastain’s job specifics
Jessica Chastain won’t take jobs unless she knows what her male co-stars are making.
The ‘Interstellar’ star is unimpressed with the gender wage gap in Hollywood and will not "allow" herself to take roles where she knows she is being paid far less than her male counterparts.
She said: "I’m not taking jobs anymore where I’m getting paid a quarter of what the male co-star is being paid. I’m not allowing that in my life.
"I don’t care about how much I get paid; I’m in an industry where we’re overcompensated for the work we do. But I don’t want to be on a set where I’m doing the same work as someone else and they’re getting five times what I’m getting."
And the 40-year-old actress admitted to turning down a role in a huge film because she wasn’t prepared to accept the lower wage.
She added to Variety magazine: "I turned it down, and they didn’t come back. I remember afterwards I was like, ‘What did I do? Maybe it was a mistake.’ But it wasn’t, because everyone in the studio system heard what I did.
"So what you’re doing is creating a reputation: Don’t bring Jessica something where she’s not being fairly compensated compared to the male actor. Even though I lost that film, I’ve created a boundary. I drew a line in the sand."
Meanwhile, Jessica previously revealed she was once told by a director that she "talks too much about all of this women stuff".
She said: "I had one male director say to me that I talk too much about all of this ‘women stuff’. This is a person I love, and maybe he was concerned I would hurt my career.
"I’m not attacking anyone. I’m trying to create more inclusiveness, compassion and empathy – which in turn makes better movies, better art."
