Kirsten Dunst sat down with Variety for an interview published earlier this month and discussed her role in the new anti-war action film, Civil War.
The Oscar nominee, 41, also opened up about the pay discrepancies that exist within Hollywood, noting that she earned $10 million less than her co-star Tobey Maguire during the making of the 2002 blockbuster hit, Spider-Man.
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Kirsten Dunst Gets Candid About Hollywood Pay Discrepancies And Reflects On Her 'Spider-Man' Trilogy Experience
Despite her fame in the late 90s and early 2000s from films like Interview with the Vampire, Jumanji, Little Women and Bring It On, Dunst said she faced major pay disparity compared to co-star Maguire, 48, in the original Spider-Man trilogy, which grossed over $2.5 billion worldwide.
Dunst added that her acting credits didn't make much of a difference in her pay as the female lead in the films, according to her new interview.
Although Maguire reportedly received $17 million to reprise his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the sequel, Dunst didn't get a similar number and notes that her salary was "a lot different" than his. "It was different. A lot different. And I was in Bring It On and had a track record," Dunst said.
Regarding Maguire's alleged $17 million salary for Spider-Man 2 in 2004, Dunst added: "It might have been more, actually." Even while being a seasoned actress who had appeared in many big films before Spider-Man, her "track record" didn't translate into fair compensation, she stressed.
The Virgin Suicides alum continued, reflecting: "When I was younger, in my 20s, I didn’t have the best guidance, I would say, and I did a couple of duds for money reasons, but nothing that I would have actually done otherwise."
Dunst added: "I get offered the most money on things I don’t want to do. As soon as I took the reins and started to develop my tastes and who I wanted to work with, everything shifted."
Although the Marie Antoinette star's most recent superhero role was in 2007's Spider-Man 3, she remains open to the idea of returning for more, "because you get paid a lot of money," she said, "and I have two children, and I support my mother."
In a separate interview, Dunst expressed her surprise that other actors do not frequently bring up this topic, saying that this is "the reason people do those movies."
During another interview with GQ Magazine published this month, Dunst disclosed that although she had intended to make a comeback in the superhero universe by now and even expressed interest in appearing in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, unfortunately, she wasn't approached by anyone.
When asked if "anyone asked her to come back" for the film that saw Maguire's return to his former role, Dunst replied: "No, no. I would have."
The Power of the Dog alum continued, sharing an idea she had for her character Mary Jane Watson's potential Marvel Cinematic Universe entry: "It would be funny to be like, OK, let’s take Tobey [Maguire] and I and do it in a weird indie way where it’s like a different kind of superhero film, like how they did that movie Chronicle. It could be cool."
