Sienna Miller Says Chadwick Boseman Donated Some of His Salary So She Could Be Paid More for Their Movie
Sienna Miller paid tribute to her 21 Bridges co-star, the late Chadwick Boseman, in Empire's new issue created to honor him and his legacy. Miller shared for the first time her
own story about what Boseman did to get her the pay she deserved on their movie. Boseman was a producer on the film, and Miller had been a little reluctant to sign onto the project at first, though she did really want to work with him.
“I didn't know whether or not to tell this story, and I haven't yet. But I am going to tell it, because I think it's a testament to who he was,” Miller started. “This [21 Bridges] was a pretty big budget film, and I know that everybody understands about the pay disparity in Hollywood, but I asked for a number that the studio wouldn't get to. And because I was hesitant to go back to work and my daughter was starting school, and it was an inconvenient time, I said, ‘I’ll do it if I'm compensated in the right way.’ And Chadwick ended up donating some of his salary to get me to the number that I had asked for. He said that that was what I deserved to be paid.”
“It was about the most astounding thing that I've experienced,” she continued. “That kind of thing just doesn't happen. He said, ‘You're getting paid what you deserve, and what you're worth.’ It's just unfathomable to imagine another man in that town behaving that graciously or respectfully. In the aftermath of this I've told other male actor friends of mine that story and they all go very very quiet and go home and probably have to sit and think about things for a while. But there was no showiness, it was, ‘Of course I'll get you to that number, because that's what you should be paid.’”