Benedict Cumberbatch: I'll turn down a role if my female co-star isn't paid the same
And Cumberbatch has plans for more female-focused drama from his new production company
Benedict Cumberbatch has suggested that actors like himself should boycott projects that do not pay woman the same amount as their male co-stars.
"Equal pay and a place at the table are the central tenets of feminism," says Cumberbatch in the new issue of Radio Times magazine.
"Look at your quotas. Ask what women are being paid, and say: ‘If she’s not paid the same as the men, I’m not doing it.’”
A fervent feminist, Cumberbatch – who takes the title role in new Sky Atlantic series Patrick Melrose – also said he would be using his profile, and his new production company, SunnyMarch, to champion more female-focused dramas.
"I'm proud that [partner] Adam [Ackland] and I are the only men in our production company; our next project is a female story with a female lens about motherhood, in a time of environmental disaster. If it's centred around my name, to get investors, then we can use that attention for a raft of female projects. Half the audience is female!"
This story was originally published on the 8th May
Read the full interview with Benedict Cumberbatch in the new issue of Radio Times, on sale now
Patrick Melrose will air on Sky Atlantic. Watch episode one of Patrick Melrose for free with RadioTimes.com
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