Although Sienna Miller courageously fought for gender norms throughout her acting career, she was harshly shut down after "extremely powerful" producers told her to "f**k off."
In a recent interview, the 40-year-old recalled the time she was "offered less than half" of her male costar's weekly salary for a Broadway acting role.
“I said to the producer, who was extremely powerful, it’s not about money — it’s about fairness and respect, thinking they’d come back and say, ‘Of course, of course.’ But they didn’t,” Miller expressed of her mistreatment as a female within the entertainment industry. “They just said, ‘Well f**k off then.’”
“I don’t want to be mean,” the mother-of-one stated regarding why she wouldn't name whether the play in question was Cabaret in 2014 or After Miss Julie in 2009 — which are the only two Broadway productions the blonde bombshell has ever starred in.
Miller “felt terrible about myself and embarrassed” in the immediate moments after the producer's harsh response, but later regained her bravery and realized, as a female, that she deserved “every right to be equally subsidized for the work that I would have done.”
The Anatomy of a Scandal star's wisdom did not go unnoticed, as late actor and producer Chadwick Boseman fought alongside Miller's demand for equality during their filming of 21 Bridges.
Boseman — who passed away in 2020 from colon cancer — redistributed some of his salary to his costar in order for her pay to meet an equal standard.
“'What you did was extraordinary and meant the world,'" Miller expressed — with great gratitude — to the Golden Globe winner. "He came up to me when we wrapped and said, ‘You got paid what you deserved.’”
After looking back on her days as a young movie star, Miller took a sigh of relief and explained how thankful she feels that actors and actresses today are able to speak on their discomforts and demand what they rightfully deserve.
“[Actors who are] 10 years younger have the word ‘no’ in their language in a way that I didn’t,” the American Sniper star concluded as she reflected on progressed standards within Hollywood. “[Now] if you say, ‘I don’t feel comfortable’ in front of any form of executive, they’re sh**ting their pants. You’re included in a conversation about your level of comfort. It’s changed everything.”
British Vogue interviewed Miller regarding her demand for equal pay as an actress.
