In a new interview, Natalie Portman revealed that she actually earned less money for working in the same movie as Ashton Kutcher, which makes no sense.
Natalie Portman might have some quiet years, but it’s tough to deny that the woman doesn’t have a lot of very big movies under her belt. She’s played Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker’s mom as well as a tough politician in her own right in the Star Wars films. She’s a clever astrophysicist in Thor. For V for Vendetta, she held her own and had her head shaved. She also has a shiny Oscar for her turn as a ballerina in Black Swan. One would expect that she now receives her due for agreeing to appear in movies, right?
Apparently, that’s not the case. According to a new interview with Portman for Marie Claire U.K., Ashton Kutcher received a bigger paycheck for No Strings Attached. He and Portman played the leads.
Well, that’s not entirely accurate. Portman said that Kutcher’s pay was three times more than hers. Not just 50% more. Three times the size. Now, as Entertainment Weekly points out, No Strings Attached came out before Portman had her Oscar for Black Swan, but let’s do a little comparison of careers as they stood around 2011.
At that point, Kutcher had That ’70s Show and Fisher among his career highlights. Meanwhile, Portman had already completed V for Vendetta, the entire Star Wars prequel trilogy, Heat, Closer, Garden State…you get the picture. In other words, although Kutcher had the more obvious comedy chops, it wasn’t Portman’s first romantic rodeo either.
Portman said in the interview that she knew what was going on, but didn’t say anything. However, she also added, “I don’t think women and men are more or less capable. We just have a clear issue with women not having opportunities. We need to be part of the solution, not perpetuating the problem.”
In other words, it sounds like Portman is going to follow the lead of fellow Star Wars star Felicity Jones, reportedly the highest-paid actor for Rogue One and start working for equal pay in Hollywood.
Next: Woody Harrelson's in the Han Solo Movie
It seems like a small problem, all things considered, but Hollywood’s a very visible part of American culture. Perhaps equal pay in Hollywood could help lead to equal pay for women everywhere.