“Suffragette” star Carey Mulligan has probably been as much a victim of Hollywood’s pay disparity as any other actress, she just probably doesn’t know it.
“I’m sure it has happened to me, because it’s happened to everyone else,” the actress said at TheWrap’s screening series on Tuesday. Although Mulligan also admitted that her situation might be different than that of other high-profile actresses because her career has consisted mostly of independent films.
Mulligan stars in “Suffragette,” directed by Sarah Gavron and written by Abi Morgan, a movie whose subject matter — the British Suffragette movement for women’s right to vote — is not that different than the conversation currently dominating Hollywood.
The wage gap between men and women in Hollywood has become an increasingly frequent topic of discussion following the revelation earlier this year that “American Hustle” star Jennifer Lawrence was paid less than her male counterparts. But Mulligan was quick to point out that this is an issue that stretches across all of society.
“I think it’s good that people are talking about it, because it’s unfair and it’s been unfair for a long time,” she said, calling the focus on Hollywood as a good jumping off point for a larger conversation. “It’s a platform to talk about it so that it gets talked about in the rest of society.”
And it’s not just an issue of pay. Mulligan says that it’s a systemic issue in the film industry that results in inequality. “The roles for men are strong, better,” she explained. “And there are more. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s reflected in the way people are paid.”
But the actress has a plan to protect herself in the future: “Apparently I need to get Bradley Cooper involved,” she joked.