It’s terribly unfortunate that equal pay is still an ongoing problem in Hollywood, and Bryce Dallas Howard is the latest actress to come forward about this problem, sharing that her Jurassic World co-star Chris Pratt had to step in to ensure equality.
The acclaimed actress and director revealed to Insider that the reports about her pay were in fact false, and she was paid “so much less” to star in the franchise.
“The reports were so interesting because I was paid so much less than the reports even said, so much less. When I started negotiating for Jurassic, it was 2014 and it was a different world, and I was at a great disadvantage. And, unfortunately, you have to sign up for three movies and so your deals are set.”
She also gave major props to Pratt, whom she admitted took over any outside negotiations moving forward, ensuring that they were paid the exact amount.
“What I will say is that Chris and I have discussed it, and whenever there was an opportunity to move the needle on stuff that hadn’t been already negotiated, like a game or a ride, he literally told me, ‘You guys don’t even have to do anything. I’m gonna do all the negotiating. We’re gonna be paid the same and you don’t have to think about this, Bryce.’ I love him so much for doing that. I really do, because I’ve been paid more for those kinds of things than I ever was for the movie.”
It sucks that a man had to get involved for both lead stars to be paid equally, and this remains a huge problem in the film and television industry even today.
Jurassic World: Dominion was released on June 10 and marked the final film of the reboot trilogy. The film is currently the second highest-grossing film of the year so far, behind Top Gun: Maverick, and Howard starred as Claire Dearing in all three films.