Patricia Clarkson vividly remembers the moment she realized she was being paid less than her male co-stars. The Oscar nominee shared her experience in an interview at a screening of her new movie, “Lilly,” last week. Clarkson, 65, revealed that about five years into her career, she asked her agent, “What is my male co-star being paid?” The response was disheartening.
“He said, ‘You don’t want to know,'” she recalled. This revelation prompted Clarkson to advocate for equal pay. “I started having my agents question everything,” she explained.
“I began demanding equal pay long ago. I would say, ‘Well, if [my male co-star’s] making this…We have similar-sized roles.'” Clarkson’s efforts faced resistance. Producers often justified the pay gap by asserting the male co-star had more credits.
Clarkson was unwavering. “I would say, ‘No, that doesn’t fly. He doesn’t have more credits,'” she recounted.
Her determination resulted in a 20% increase in her earnings. This fight for equality resonates deeply with Clarkson, both personally and professionally. Her latest film, “Lilly,” encapsulates this struggle.
Clarkson portrays Lilly Ledbetter, an activist who discovered she had been underpaid for decades while working at an Alabama tire factory. Ledbetter’s legal battle led to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a law addressing gender-based pay discrimination. Despite her admiration for Ledbetter, Clarkson chose not to meet her before she passed away last year at age 86.
“I had her on such a high pedestal,” Clarkson said. Raised in a family of five daughters with a politically active mother, Clarkson deeply connected with Ledbetter’s fight for equality. The screening of “Lilly” drew notable attendees, including Hillary Clinton, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Katie Couric, Jim Parsons, and John Slattery.
Clarkson hopes the powerful message of the movie resonates with “every woman across the country,” inspiring continued advocacy for equal pay. Clarkson, who is from New Orleans, drew inspiration for her portrayal from her own mother, Jacquelyn “Jackie” Brechtel Clarkson, a former Democratic member of New Orleans’s city council and Louisiana’s state legislature. Jackie Clarkson, who passed away at 88, never compromised raising five daughters while facing intense political battles.
Equal pay advocacy
Speaking after accepting the New Orleans Film Society’s Celluloid Hero Award and hosting a local screening of “Lilly,” Clarkson emphasized that equal pay should not be a political issue but a human rights issue. “When women make equal pay, everybody wins.”
Clarkson, who chose not to marry or have children, admires supportive partnership dynamics and hopes more American spouses, especially husbands, follow these examples.
“These remarkable men stood by these women. And they wanted them.”
“I’ve survived Hollywood,” Clarkson said. “I’m not a 25-year-old woman.
I’ve lived through a lot in my life. I’ve survived Hollywood, okay. I’m a New Orleanian who now lives in New York.”
Clarkson acknowledged that she recognized at a young age she wasn’t the marrying kind, despite meeting many remarkable men throughout her life.
“I was a fiercely independent child. I knew very early on I wasn’t the marrying kind. I love to work, I’m a workhorse,” she said.
Over the decades, Clarkson has seen the treatment of women in Hollywood evolve significantly. “When I first started out, my very first movie I did was ‘The Untouchables.’ Even my make-up artist was a man. I was the only woman for miles. Miles.
And I was paid scale,” she recalled. Despite her choice to remain single and not have children, Clarkson finds immense joy in her extended family. “One of my greatest joys in my whole life is being an aunt.
And now, they all have these gorgeous children that you can eat on a spoon. And that’s enough for me,” she said. Clarkson reflected on the profound impact her roles, both on and off the screen, have had on her life, and she appreciates the progress and recognition women in Hollywood are beginning to receive.
“I think people are starting to realize that women, we can make you money. We can win you awards. We can make your life better if you employ us and you pay us,” she concluded.
“Lilly” debuted in theaters on May 9, allowing audiences to witness a story of resilience and justice that resonates deeply with both Clarkson and, undoubtedly, many viewers.
