Actor Richard Madden, who found fame playing Robb Stark in HBO’s hit fantasy show, Game of Thrones, has said that he was paid peanuts - in much more colourful language. The actor, who has since gone on to star in several high-profile projects, attributed his low salary to being an unknown at the time.
“People think I am (loaded) because of Game Of Thrones, but you know, when I signed up for that I was 22, with f**k all on my CV, so I was paid f**k all,” he told the Sunday Times.
When he was asked about the gender pay gap and how female actors are likely to make less than their male co-stars, Madden said, “I care less about how much other people are paid, and more what it takes for me to shut up and go and do my job.”
Actors such as Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence have been vocal in securing equal pay in the industry, and Benedict Cumberbatch has vowed to never sign a project in which his female co-star isn’t being paid equally.
And Madden agrees. “The equality thing needs to be addressed hugely between male and female co-stars,” he said. “I know that from friends of mine. But there’s only so much I can do for myself. Agents and lawyers, they do all that stuff. I just kind of deal with what I need to, so I don’t look a producer in the eye and f**king hate them when they’re talking about their villas, and you’re thinking, shit, I’m getting the bus at the weekend, because I don’t have the money for a cab, you know?” he continued.
{{/usCountry}}And Madden agrees. “The equality thing needs to be addressed hugely between male and female co-stars,” he said. “I know that from friends of mine. But there’s only so much I can do for myself. Agents and lawyers, they do all that stuff. I just kind of deal with what I need to, so I don’t look a producer in the eye and f**king hate them when they’re talking about their villas, and you’re thinking, shit, I’m getting the bus at the weekend, because I don’t have the money for a cab, you know?” he continued.
{{/usCountry}}After being killed off in the third season of Game of Thrones, Madden went on to star in Disney’s Cinderella and will next appear in the Elton John biopic, Rocketman. Meanwhile, Game of Thrones will return for a final season in 2019. The lead actors - Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Kit Harington - now command salaries upwards of $500,000 million per episode, making them the highest paid TV stars in the world, save NCIS’ Mark Harmon.
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