Kirsten Dunst has addressed the gender pay gap in Hollywood, saying in a new interview that she "'didn’t even think to ask" about the disparity between her salary and that of the male lead actor in the same film.
"I definitely grew up in a time of major pay disparity between the lead actor and myself," she told the BBC.
While she did not specify what film and who her male co-star was in the interview, it is widely speculated that Dunst is referring to the Sam Raimi-directed "Spider-Man" starring Tobey Maguire.
"Even though I had been in 'Bring It On' and he hadn’t … I had more success in my box office than he did," she said. "I was 17, I was still learning, at that age I'm still learning my taste in film, I didn’t even think to ask. I didn't even know there was a place to challenge it. That's how it is at 17."
Dunst previously spoke about the issue back in 2021 with the Independent. During the interview, she made it clear that the disparity existed between herself and Maguire.
"The pay disparity between me and Spider-Man was very extreme. I didn't even think about it. I was just like, 'Oh yeah, Tobey is playing Spider-Man.' But you know who was on the cover of the second Spider-Man poster? … Spider-Man and ME," she said.
The film became a huge hit, grossing $825 million globally and sparking the modern superhero era. A sequel was inevitable and according to Variety, Maguire reportedly earned $17 million to reprise his role.
"It was different. A lot different. And I was in 'Bring It On' and had a track record," she told the outlet this week.
Despite Dunst's frustration with the salary gap, money has never been a massive motivator for her. She admitted that prioritizing big paydays in the past has often been a mistake.
"When I was younger, in my 20s, I didn’t have the best guidance, I would say, and I did a couple of duds for money reasons, but nothing that I would have actually done otherwise," she told Variety. "I get offered the most money on things I don’t want to do. As soon as I took the reins and started to develop my tastes and who I wanted to work with, everything shifted."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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