Olivia Colman touched upon a persisting issue in Hollywood during a candid conversation on CNN’s “The Amanpour Hour.”
Despite having an Oscar tethered to her name, the British star said she would earn more if her name was “Oliver” instead of “Olivia.”
The actress appeared on the show with director Thea Sharrock to promote the film “Wicked Little Letters.”
“Research suggests that [women have] always been big box office draws,” Olivia told host Christiane Amanpour.
“Don’t get me started on the pay disparity,” she went on to say. “But male actors get paid more because they used to say they draw in the audiences.”
Olivia Colman spoke about the long-standing issue of the gender pay gap in Hollywood
Image credits: Don Arnold/WireImage via Getty Images
“But actually, that hasn’t been true for decades, but they still like to use that as a reason to not pay women as much as their male counterparts in our industry,” added the Fleabag actress.
When Christiane asked the actress if she had experienced pay disparity herself, Olivia replied, “I’m very aware that if I was Oliver Colman, I’d be earning a f— of a lot more than I am.”
She said she knew of one instance of pay disparity that saw a “12,000% difference”
“If I was ‘Oliver’ Colman, I’d be earning a f*** of a lot more than I am.” I ask Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman about the gender pay gap in Hollywood. “I know of one pay disparity which is a 12,000% difference,” she tells me. pic.twitter.com/A0qPHIPK4N
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) March 23, 2024
“I know of one pay disparity, which is a 12,000% difference. Do the maths, I know,” she added.
In addition to two Academy Award nominations in the past, Olivia won the Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar for her role of Queen Anne in The Favourite. She also finds herself in the credit list of Heartstopper and Secret Invasion, and she also stepped into the shoes of Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix‘s The Crown.
This isn’t the first time Olivia has opened up about the double standards in the film industry. She recently spoke about how the idea of men bringing a bigger audience to theaters is a “lie.”
The actress said it’s a lie that men “get more bums on seats,” which she believes is an excuse that has been used to justify paying male actors more than their female counterparts
#NW Wicked Little Letters pic.twitter.com/4sv6q0jqQ6
— Chris 🦦 #VENOMANIACS (@LuminousDagger) March 24, 2024
When asked whether filmmakers are now ushering in a new era of cinema with “fully-fleshed female characters,” Olivia said: “There’ve been many fantastic female-centric films which have moved me.”
“And some of the biggest-grossing films, Barbie, Bridesmaids, Thelma & Louise, are led by women,” she told Radio Times magazine.
“People say men get paid more because they get more bums on seats. That’s a lie! It can be proved in the box office. I don’t know why we’re still having to discuss it!” she added.
