Olivia Colman: I would be paid better if I was male

Olivia Colman has voiced her frustrations with the pay gap in Hollywood.

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Olivia Colman feels frustrated by the pay gap
Olivia Colman feels frustrated by the pay gap

Olivia Colman thinks she would make "a lot more" if she was a male actor.

The Oscar-winning star has enjoyed huge success in recent years, but Olivia continues to feel frustrated by the pay gap in Hollywood.

The 50-year-old actress told CNN: "Don’t get me started on the pay disparity, but male actors get paid more because they used to say they drew in the audiences.

"And actually, that hasn’t been true for decades but they still like to use that as a reason to not pay women as much as their male counterparts."

Olivia is convinced that she would earn more if she was a man.

The acclaimed actress added: "I know of one pay disparity, which is a 12,000 percent difference."

Last year, Taraji P. Henson slammed the gender pay gap in the movie business.

The 53-year-old actress believes she's always had to fight hard for her success.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: "I’ve been getting paid and I’ve been fighting tooth and nail every project to get that same freaking [fee] quote. And it’s a slap in the face when people go, ‘Oh girl, you work all the time. You always working.’ Well, goddammit, I have to. It’s not because I wish I could do two movies a year and that’s that.

"I have to work because the math ain’t mathing. And I have bills."

Taraji also revealed that she's challenging the status quo for the benefit of younger actresses.

She said: "I know that the legacy I leave will affect somebody coming up behind me.

"My prayer is that I don’t want these black girls to have the same fights that me and Viola [Davis], Octavia [Spencer], we out here thugging it out. Otherwise, why am I doing this? For my own vanity? There’s no blessing in that.

"I’ve tried twice to walk away [from the business]. But I can’t, because if I do, how does that help the ones coming up behind me?"