Dominic West has said he had no idea he was earning more than his female co-star in a major US drama and warned that the treatment of women in television has gone backwards in the past two decades.
The British actor insisted that he was shocked when Ruth Wilson, his co-star in the critically-acclaimed US drama The Affair, announced earlier this year that she earned less than him – despite winning a Golden Globe for her role.
“I never ask what the money is on a show,” said West in an interview with the Radio Times. “It was more a question of if I wanted to do it. So it woke me up to the issue. I never realised the disparity and the injustice.”
The British actor is preparing to film the fifth and final series of the programme, which details the relationship between two individuals thrown together in the US.
Earlier this year Wilson said she was “definitely” paid less than West, but had never raised the topic because it was awkward to discuss on set. “But it needs to be an open discussion and men need to help us out. I don’t want more money, I just want equal money. Which means men have to take less,” she said.
Wilson left the programme, aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK, shortly after making the comments, moving on to other projects such the BBC drama Mrs Wilson, based on the real life story of her grandmother, who married a bigamist MI6 officer.
West said the #MeToo movement had helped improve conditions in the film and television industries but that there was still a long way to go: “One thing that’s happened is a positive discrimination in favour of female directors. But the main thing is that unacceptable behaviour from male directors or actors is now either not possible, or you can call them out on it,” he said.
“There was one guy in particular whose behaviour was disgusting. Particularly to young females in minor roles. I tried to counter it on several occasions. But now, it wouldn’t be so hard to get rid of them.”
West, who made his name starring in The Wire, is currently promoting his new film Colette, starring Keira Knightley in the lead role as the eponymous French author. However, he said the treatment of women has taken a big step back in the past 20 years: “Particularly in television, which has become more pornographic, and the burden of that falls squarely on young women.”
He highlighted the level of nudity in series such Game of Thrones and suggested it was symptomatic of an increasingly sexualised society: “I’m fairly sure that 20 years ago young actresses would not have had pressure put on them to take their clothes off. The parts young actresses get, particularly pretty ones, involve violent rape. When I think about my daughter going into the profession … I’m just really glad that #MeToo has started to counteract what has happened in the past 20 years.”
West told the Radio Times he blamed the availability of internet pornography and online dating apps. “It’s made boys feel that women are sex objects who are easily available.”
