Natalie Portman Was Underpaid in 'No Strings Attached', Said Ashton Kutcher Was Paid Three Times More

Thor actress Natalie Portman once revealed that she was paid far less compared to her male actors in the films she did in the past. She recalled the time she was paid shockingly less compared to her No Strings Attached co-actor, Ashton Kutcher, and slammed Hollywood for doing so.

In an interview with Marie Claire in 2017, the Black Swan actress came forward about being underpaid as a woman. Earlier in that year, entertainment and technology mogul Sony was reportedly hacked and several documents containing information regarding the salaries of several big-time Hollywood actors and actresses came to light. Among this list, Portman's name was also seen. In light of those events, the actress emphasized the gravity of being paid according to gender in the industry by illustrating an example of her personal life. 

The V for Vendetta actress recalled the time her co-actor Ashton Kutcher earned thrice the amount she did for co-starring in the blockbuster movie No Strings Attached. On this particular topic, Portman notes the reason for her agreement to such an ordeal and says, "I knew and I went along with it because there's this thing with 'quotes' in Hollywood...His was three times higher than mine so they said he should get three times more," claimed the actress.

She further highlights how she felt during this time and said that she wasn't "as p***** as I should've been". Adding to this statement Portman said that even though the actress did get paid 'a lot', it was hard for her to voice her respective concerns. "The disparity is crazy," said the actress in annoyance. 

The Leon actress also provided insightful statistics into the financial world of women's pay grades in the industry as compared to men. "Compared to men, in most professions, women make 80 cents to the dollar." Portman extended her elaboration and points out that in Hollywood, women earned far less! "In Hollywood, we are making 30 cents to the dollar," said Portman.

The actress emphasized the issue in question isn't about capabilities. In general, the issue hasn't been about whether men are more capable of doing a job than a woman regardless of the field of interest. It's about the platform to receive equal opportunities.

"I don't think women and men are more or less capable. We just have a clear issue with women not having opportunities," said Portman. The actress even offered a useful suggestion and said, "We need to be part of the solution not perpetuating the problem."

Since speaking on the issue, the Oscar-winning actress received several exciting opportunities and acting projects to work on. She went on to star in films such as Annihilation, Song to Song, and The Death & Life of John F. Donovan.