Hollywood's gender pay-gap problem has garnered considerable attention lately, with big stars like Jennifer Lawrence publicly decrying the way the industry treats women, but according to two-time Oscar nominee Keira Knightley, things aren't so different over in the Broadway world.
Following her debut last week in Broadway's Therese Raquin, Knightley revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that she agreed to be paid the scale rate — the minimum set by a union — of $1,300 a week because she wanted the opportunity to play a multifaceted female lead. The play, an adaption of Emile Zola's 1867 novel, follows Therese as a woman stuck in an unhappy marriage.
"[I]t's very rare that I get offered interesting roles; there are very, very few out there for women," Knightley said. "And when something like this comes along, you go, 'I can sink my teeth into it and not just be the supportive girlfriend or wife,' which can get rather boring."
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One of Knightley's costars, Judith Light, added, "Of course we need more gender parity on Broadway, not just with playwrights, but directors and producers and actors too. [...] It's 2015, I can't believe we're still talking about this."
Therese Raquin was, until recently, the only play written by a woman scheduled to run this season.
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