Priyanka Chopra Jonas is taking her “Citadel” experience to the bank.
“When I did ‘Citadel,’ it was the first time in my career that I had the same pay as my male co-actor. The first time in 22 years. And I wonder why that happened.” the 40-year-old actor said Friday, according to Variety — at the South by Southwest Film and Television Festival in Austin, Texas.
Chopra Jonas was speaking with Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon Studios, which will release the world spy adventure “Citadel” in late April. The television series stars Richard Madden, the “male co-actor” in question. Also in the cast: Stanley Tucci, Ashleigh Cummings, Lesley Manville and Timothy Busfield.
The “Quantico” actress, who is married to musician Nick Jonas, wondered if having a woman in charge made a difference to her salary. “It’s a little crazy, I put in the same amount of service time, I put in the same amount of investment and work, but I get paid a lot less,” she said, according to the hollywood reporterreferring to his more than 70 previous acting jobs.
“But the ease with which Amazon Studios said, ‘That’s what they deserve, they’re co-stars, that’s fair,’ and I was like, ‘You’re right, that’s fair.’ And I wonder: Did that happen because there are so few female decision makers in Hollywood? Would it have been a different conversation if a woman had not made that decision?
Salke wasn’t 100% sure she made a difference. But maybe she did?
“There was just no question to me that that was the absolutely right thing to do,” the executive said. “Whether that would have happened or not if I had been there, I can’t speak to that. I have great male and female allies who are in our company, who have been working for me and with me, who now know how to make space and stop, think and do a knee-jerk review.”
Salke said she sees changes around pay parity in her industry and finds it “encouraging and inspiring.”
“Citadel” premieres April 28 on Prime Video.
