DAME JUDI: We will never be paid the same as men
Actor says women will always be given a raw deal by Hollywood film industry
DAME Judi Dench believes female actors will never be paid the same as male co-stars, saying women are “put in their place” by men.
The James Bond veteran, 82, claims that no amount of discussion will change the gender pay gap in Hollywood and the British entertainment industry.
Judi said that while the industry is less sexist than when she started out 60 years ago, there will always be some disparity.
She said: “Salary, parts – you name it. It’s better now than it has ever been, I think, but it will never be on a parity. Never.
“No matter how much we speak out, we are put in our place.”
Last month, it emerged two- thirds of the BBC’s best-paid stars are male.
This week, Forbes magazine revealed that Hollywood’s best-paid actor Mark Wahlberg raked in £53million in 2016, £33million more than highest-paid female star Emma Stone. And on Tuesday, it was revealed ITV host Holly Willoughby, 36, had landed a £200,000 raise, putting her on the same salary as her This Morning co-presenter, Phillip Schofield, 54, after 11 years working together.
Dame Judi starred alongside James Bond actor Daniel Craig in a short film in 2011, which saw her Bond character, M, interrogate 007 on gender issues, including pay inequality.
The film, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, saw M asking: “Are we equals? Until the answer is yes, we must never stop asking.” ● See Dame Judi’s full interview in the October issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale on August 30.
ACTOR Vicky McClure has said she does not understand why the gender pay gap exists as she told fans “it doesn’t happen on Line Of Duty”.
McClure, who stars in the BBC police drama, told a panel event at the Edinburgh International Television Festival: “I just don’t get it, why men feel they’ve got the right to get paid more than women.”