Robin Wright about “House of Cards”: Why she earned less than Kevin Spacey

Robin Wright (59) showed another example of Hollywood’s salary structures at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival and once more confirmed how absurd the reasons for wage differences can be.

The 59-year-old actress spoke openly about her struggle for fair remuneration in the “House of Cards” (2013-2018) series during a round of conversation. A detail became particularly clear: the producers justified the different payment between her and leading actor Kevin Spacey (65) with his Oscar win.

“It was difficult. I’m honest,” Wright said about her struggle for the same payment. When she asked for a salary increase because her figure Claire Underwood had become as popular as Spaceys Frank Underwood, she received a remarkable answer: “We cannot pay you like an actor, so we make you executing producer and you can direct. We give you three different salary checks.” When asked why she could not simply be paid for as an actress, the succinct answer followed: “Because you didn’t win any Academy Award.”

The Golden Globe winner made it clear that this line of argument was by no means an isolated case. “This has been the protocol for years – it’s just that,” she said. The actress described a perfidious system: “If you ask why this or that woman didn’t get the same as Will Smith, you say: ‘It will climb after winning.’ Not so much with a nomination. But being angry about it, “nothing would change,” said Wright, who also sees it as a “gift” today that she could direct at “House of Cards”. “I learned so much in this series. I didn’t feel any pressure. I was encouraged to do it.”