HBO has a been week coming up. After two years of waiting, its acclaimed sci-fi series Westworld will finally return for a second season. The series became an instant hit when it arrived in 2016, and fans have been eagerly waiting to see the next adventure, and resolve the explosive cliffhanger finale. While much of the conversation around Westworld is related to the twists and turns happening onscreen, there are some exciting moments happening behind the scenes. Namely, that Evan Rachel Wood is being paid equally to her male co-stars. Equal pay has been a hot button issue in the business, and Wood recently opened up about what the experience has been like on the show, saying:
I was just told that, you know, 'Hey you're, you're getting equal pay.' And I was like [gasp]. And I almost got emotional. I was like, 'I have never been paid the same as my male counterparts ... Never, never.' . . . I'm always fighting for that. And I have turned down projects --- Westworld, it's like, I get it a little more. [laughs] It's like, 'Well, you're Anthony Hopkins or Ed Harris.' But I think now we're all doing equal amounts of work and really hard work.
It looks like being paid the same as her male co-stars isn't something that happens easily in Evan Rachel Wood's career, and it has affected which projects she's taken on. But considering how much of the story rests on Wood's character Dolores, she certainly has earned the right to the same amount of money as male actors.
Aside from being arguably Westworld's biggest character, Evan Rachel Wood has also done a fair amount of work for HBO in the past. She guest starred across multiple seasons as Queen Sophie-Anne in True Blood, and starred opposite Kate Winslet in the miniseries Mildred Pierce. With Dolores being one of the only characters present across all of the show's many timelines, it makes sense that Wood should get a pay bump this time around.
In her same conversation about pay with The Wrap, Evan Rachel Wood spoke to how her pay had previously plateaued, and how often women are not paid as well simply due to their sex.
[I've made] pretty much the same amount of money on things for years. I have not moved. And I'm not saying I'm in like dire straits. I'm very lucky. . . . It's more about if you're getting paid fairly, or the same, or if you're getting paid less simply because you're a woman, that's not fair.
The conversation around equal pay has been a hot button issue in the entertainment world. More and more actresses have come out to speak about the difference in pay from male co-stars, with stars like Ellen Pompeo and Emmy Rossum negotiating new contracts for their work on Grey's Anatomy and Shameless respectively.
Westworld returns to HBO on April 22nd, 2018. In the meantime, check out our midseason premiere list to plan your next binge watch. Plus our Amazon premiere list and superhero premiere list to ensure you don't miss a single episode.
