Robin Wright already has us swooning for her role as TV’s most badass woman Claire Underwood.
And now Wright is showing she bears fabulous parallels to her eloquently fierce House of Cards character who thrives on challenges and isn’t afraid to take down anyone – anyone – who stands in the way of her stiletto-heeled path to power.
Underwood does not just ‘lean in’, she pushes, shoves and muscles her way to triumph. So it’s almost natural that Wright would not let pay inequality slide.
Speaking at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York as part of an Insight Dialogues series, Wright revealed how she demanded to earn the same as her House of Cards co-star and on-screen husband Kevin Spacey. Or else, she was going public.
"I was like, 'I want to be paid the same as Kevin'," Wright said.
Wright, 50, delved into this during a more general discussion about the gender pay gap.
"It was the perfect paradigm. There are very few films or TV shows where the male, the patriarch, and the matriarch are equal. And they are in House of Cards," she said. Spacey was reportedly earning US$500,000 per episode of season three.
"I was looking at the statistics and Claire Underwood's character was more popular than (Frank's) for a period of time. So I capitalised on it. I was like, 'You better pay me or I’m going to go public'," Wright said, sporting her trademark grin.
"And they did."
Boss. Lady.
Lucky attendees of her talk were enamoured.
Robin Wright's biggest piece of advice to women: "Raise your voice." #RFDialogues pic.twitter.com/TzoPKQ9YR2
— Fortune MPW (@FortuneMPW) May 17, 2016
@RealRobinWright had to pressure @netflix to pay her the same as Kevin Spacey. #RFDialogues pic.twitter.com/WcOC5054Tc
— Decker Ngongang (@Ngongang) May 17, 2016
Listening to @RealRobinWright makes me want to be a better person #RFDialogues pic.twitter.com/Dav6E2Jkk7 — Valentina Zarya (@valzarya) May 17, 2016
Wright also detailed how after shooting to fame for her role in 1994 film Forrest Gump, her career took a back step when she had her two children with ex-husband Sean Penn. But she has well and truly nailed her comeback.
"Because I wasn’t working full time, I wasn’t building my salary bracket. If you don’t build that... with notoriety and presence, you’re not in the game anymore. You become a B-list actor. You’re not box office material," Wright said.
"You don’t hold the value you would have held if you had done four movies a year like Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett did during the time I was raising my kids. Now I’m kind of on a comeback at 50-years-old."
Wright, bless her awesome soul, is also promoting a documentary she co-produced and narrated, When Elephants Fight, about the minerals war in Congo.
Hey Australia, we still need to urgently tackle the gender pay gap: