Olivia Colman opens up on pay disparity in Hollywood: ‘If I was Oliver Colman…’

Olivia Colman, who is an Academy Award and Emmy-winning actor, shared she would be paid a lot more if she were a male actor in the industry.

Olivia Colman is opening up about the issue of pay disparity that exists in Hollywood. The actor, who is basking in the release of her recent comedy Wicked Little Letters, appeared on CNN’s The Amanpour Hour, where she says that if she were a male actor named Oliver Colman she ‘be earning a f*** of a lot more’. (Also read: Oscars 2024: From Olivia Colman to Denzel Washington, most memorable acceptance speeches of all time)

What Olivia said

Olivia Colman said she is aware of pay disparity in Hollywood. (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Talking about the subject during the interview, Olivia said, “Don’t get me started on the pay disparity, but male actors get paid more because they used to say they drew in the audiences. And actually, that hasn’t been true for decades but they still like to use that as a reason to not pay women as much as their male counterparts.”

When the host further asked if she were subject to such a disparity herself despite being an Oscar winning actor, Olivia said in response, “I’m very aware that if I was Oliver Colman, I’d be earning a f*** of a lot more than I am. I know of one pay disparity, which is a 12,000 percent difference.”

More details

Olivia won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for The Favourite, directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. Since then, she has been nominated twice at the Academy Awards, for Best Supporting Actress in The Father; and Best Actress for The Lost Daughter. She also won an Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama series for starring as Queen Elizabeth II in the Season 4 of the hit Netflix show The Crown.