LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The revelation that Mark Wahlberg had been paid 1,500 times more than Michelle Williams for re-shooting 'All the Money in the World' caused quite a deal of condemnation at the time, per USA Today. While Wahlberg took home $1.5M, Williams got less than $1,000.
Fast Forward to 2023, and Williams has a net worth of $30M, as per Cosmopolitan, which puts her above the "ultra high net-worth individual" cutoff and gives her sufficient financial flexibility to continue doing low-budget indie projects.
Mark Wahlberg paid $1.5 million for reshoot
In 2018, three sources told USA Today that Wahlberg received $1.5M for reshooting his parts in 'All the Money.' Williams received only $80 per diem for a total of less than $1,000, less than a tenth of 1% of the remuneration Wahlberg received. The reshoot, which took place after the sexual misconduct charges against Kevin Spacey forced him to quit the movie, cost a total of $10M, though director Ridley Scott said then that "everyone did it for nothing."
Williams and Wahlberg were both represented by the same firm, William Morris Endeavor, which gets 10% of their income on average. It was reported that the Wahlberg "along with manager Stephen Levinson and agency WME, have a reputation in Hollywood for driving a tough bargain."
Recalling the time Scott called her to inform about the reshoots, Williams told USA Today, "I said I'd be wherever they needed me, whenever they needed me. And they could have my salary, they could have my holiday, whatever they wanted. Because I appreciated so much that they were making this massive effort." The movie 'All the Money in the World' was being praised as a victory up until the pay disparity became readily apparent.
Michelle Williams felt 'paralyzed' on learning about the pay gap
In 2019, Williams appeared on Capitol Hill in support of a measure sponsored by House Democrats that would eliminate the gender pay gap. She spoke about how she felt "paralyzed in feelings of futility" after it came to light that she had been paid much less than Wahlberg for performing the same amount of labor.
"In late 2017, the news broke that I'd been paid less than $1,000 compared to the $1.5 million that my male counterpart had received for the exact same amount of work," the actress said, adding, "And guess what, no-one cared. This came as no surprise to me, it simply reinforced my life-learned belief that equality is not an inalienable right and that women would always be working just as hard for less money while shouldering more responsibility at home."
According to Williams, Jessica Chastain's tweet about the topic was a spark for others to start paying attention to the pay gap issue. The 'Machester by the Sea' actress said that the uproar at the time caused a lot of change. "I could tell my workplace was shifting. On the job I just completed two weeks ago, I have to tell you, I was paid equally with my male co-star," she said.
