Octavia Spencer says fellow actor Jessica Chastain helped her get five times her asking salary when Chastain said Spencer needed to make the same pay as she did in their upcoming comedy movie.
Spencer opened up about Chastain’s help during a “Women Breaking Barriers” panel at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. She described a conversation she and Chastain had in which Spencer told Chastain what she had made on previous films and about the struggle women of color had with being paid equally with others in the industry.
“She had no idea that’s what it was like for women of color,” Spencer said of Chastain, Variety reported. Chastain then told Spencer that they would ask for and get the same amount of pay for the film they were doing together, something known as a “favored nations agreement.”
“Fast forward to last week, we’re making five times what we asked for,” Spencer said, Variety reported. “Jessica Chastain believes. She is walking the walk. And now I want to go to what the men are making, but right now it feels really good just to be in that conversation.”
Chastain later tweeted, “I realized I could tie her deal to mine to bring up her quote. Men should start doing this with their female costars.”
Spencer clarified with her own tweet, saying that she didn’t know if it cost Chastain anything to help her.
Spencer starred in films including Oscar-nominated “Hidden Figures” and co-starred with Chastain in “The Help” in 2011, winning an Oscar and Golden Globe as supporting actor for the latter.
Others on Twitter chimed in on the story.
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