Dunst: 'I didn't even think to ask for equal pay'
By Charlotte Gallagher
Hollywood star Kirsten Dunst has said she grew up at a time when there was “major pay disparity” between herself and her male co-stars.
She said she was paid less than male co-stars, even though she had more box office success, with films such as Jumanji (1995) and Bring It On (2000).
“I was very young and it just felt like at the time, what do you do?” she said.
“I was 17, I was still learning my taste in film. I didn’t even think to ask,” she added.
Dunst has previously referred to the pay gap between her and actor Tobey Maguire, who she starred alongside in Spider-Man in 2002, as “very extreme”.
Alex Garland, who directs Dunst in his latest film, Civil War, agreed it had been a major issue but “nobody questioned it, male executives didn’t question it, these were all inherited opinions. They weren’t thought about.”
Dunst plays a war photographer documenting the United States in the grip of conflict and falling apart.
