Kirsten Dunst Says Pay Gap Was “Very Extreme” Between Her and “Spider-Man” Costar Tobey Maguire

In a recent interview, Kirsten Dunst reflected on her experience working in the Spider-Man trilogy and called out a major discrepancy between co-star Toby Maguire and herself. 

“The pay disparity between me and Spider-Man was very extreme,” the Emmy nominee said. “I didn’t even think about it. I was just like, ‘Oh yeah, Tobey is playing Spider-Man.’ But you know who was on the cover of the second Spider-Man poster? Spider-Man and me.”

The actress is not alone in her advocacy for equal pay in superhero movie-making. In 2019, Brie Larson said that fighting for equal pay had become a bigger priority for her after the success of her movie Captain Marvel. 

“When women talk to me about this,” Larson said at the time, “I say, ‘You know, don’t even do it for you, if that makes you feel weird right now. Do it for the women that are gonna come after you. Do it for the next one. Do it for the future you, because you are helping. And if that can give you a little bit more of a stir and a fight, then do it. We need you.’”

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