Chadwick Boseman Took Money Out of His ’21 Bridges’ Salary to Boost Sienna Miller’s Pay
Zack Sharf
Sienna Miller revealed in an interview with Empire magazine this week that Chadwick Boseman took money out of his salary to ensure she received equal pay on their 2019 crime thriller “21 Bridges.” The two actors starred opposite each other in the Brian Kirk-directed feature, which Boseman also produced. Miller said she intended to take an acting break when Boseman first approached her to join him in “21 Bridges.”
“He had been really active in trying to get me to do it,” Miller said. “He was a fan of my work, which was thrilling, because it was reciprocated from me to him, tenfold. So he approached me to do it, he offered me this film, and it was at a time when I really didn’t want to work anymore. I’d been working non-stop and I was exhausted, but then I wanted to work with him.”
Miller said she asked for a salary number the studio wouldn’t agree to pay her, adding, “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.’”
“Chadwick ended up donating some of his salary to get me to the number that I had asked for,” Miller continued. “He said that that was what I deserved to be paid. It was about the most astounding thing that I’ve experienced. That kind of thing just doesn’t happen. He said, ‘You’re getting paid what you deserve, and what you’re worth.’”
Miller said it was “unfathomable to imagine another man in that town behaving that graciously or respectfully,” concluding, “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.’”
Boseman passed away August 28 after a four-year battle with colon cancer. “21 Bridges” is now available to rent on Amazon.
