Last week, following the outcry at the pay disparity between Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Williams for reshooting scenes in All The Money In The World, Wahlberg earned some brownie points for donating his $1.5 million fee to a legal defense fund for sexual harassment victims.
It seemed like a warm and fuzzy ending to the story, but in a slightly less inspiring coda, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed the difference in base pay that the two stars made for the film prior to filming their replacement scenes, and it’s pretty stark.
Where Michelle Williams made $625,000 for the Ridley Scott drama, Mark Wahlberg walked away with a cool $5 million – literally eight times what his co-star made for the film, whose title now comes with a certain sting of irony.
Sure, you might say, but Wahlberg’s a blockbuster movie star and Williams tends to do more indie fare, so is less of a marquee name – that’s defintely true, however, the two share equal screen time in All The Money, and Williams has been nominated for four Academy Awards over the last ten years.
The producers of the film had to be aware that Williams brings prestige to a movie – she was nominated for a Golden Globe nomination for her performance, and is presently being pushed for an Oscar, so that $625k is starting to look like a bit of a bargain for all that good buzz.
Williams earned less than $1000 for returning to reshoot scenes in the film, taking only a per diem fee, while Mark Wahlberg notoriously relied on a clause in his contract giving him approval over his co-stars to leverage an additional $1.5 million payday.
The same Hollywood Reporter article highlights a significant pay difference between Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson, the two stars of the successful US sitcom Black-ish (it’s unclear how much more Anderson earns, however, he produces the show as well as starring).
The actors are currently negotiating their salaries for the fifth season of the show, and according to THR’s source, “Ellis Ross feels that if she isn’t brought up to Anderson’s level, she may opt to appear in fewer episodes to make up the disparity by guesting on another show.”
