Bryce Dallas Howard paid ‘so much less’ than Chris Pratt for ‘Jurassic’ films

Actor Bryce Dallas Howard revealed in an interview that she was paid substantially less than her co-star Chris Pratt for the Jurassic World movie franchise, providing yet another example of a Hollywood leading woman being paid less than her male counterpart.

The Jurassic World trilogy is a spin-off project set in the world of the original Jurassic Park series, and Howard and Pratt were the co-lead actors of the franchise.

In 2018, Variety reported that Howard was paid US$8 million for the second movie of the franchise, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, while Pratt earned US$10 million. But in an interview with Insider that was published on Monday, Howard said that she was paid “so much less” than that.

“The reports were so interesting because I was paid so much less than the reports even said, so much less,” Howard said. “When I started negotiating for Jurassic, it was 2014, and it was a different world, and I was at a great disadvantage. And, unfortunately, you have to sign up for three movies, and so your deals are set.”

Howard told Insider that she talked to Pratt about the pay gap and the actor helped her negotiate better terms for other franchise opportunities, like video games and theme park attractions, that hadn’t been set in stone in her original contract.

“What I will say is that Chris and I have discussed it, and whenever there was an opportunity to move the needle on stuff that hadn’t been already negotiated, like a game or a ride, he literally told me: ‘You guys don’t even have to do anything. I’m gonna do all the negotiating. We’re gonna be paid the same, and you don’t have to think about this, Bryce,’” Howard said.

Howard expressed her appreciation for Pratt stepping in, saying, “And I love him so much for doing that. I really do, because I’ve been paid more for those kinds of things than I ever was for the movie.”

This is not the first time that Howard has spoken out about the Hollywood pay gap between men and women actors.

In 2018, Howard said in an interview with Redbook: “I wish people knew that this is what the life of most successful female celebrities is. What we get paid is totally, completely, astronomically different than what male celebrities get paid. And for women of colour, it’s a hundred times worse.”

The gender pay gap in Hollywood has become increasingly publicized in recent years as leading women speak out about their experiences of being paid less than their male co-stars.

Jessica Chastain told The Huffington Post in 2015 that she was paid far less than what outlets were reporting her salary was for The Martian. While Matt Damon reportedly earned around $25 million for the blockbuster, Chastain was paid about $1.75 million.

In another example, Gillian Anderson told the Hollywood Reporter that she was offered half of David Duchovny’s salary for the revival of the X-Files.