Chadwick Boseman Took A Pay Cut To Get Sienna Miller The Salary She Asked For In ’21 Bridges’
"He said, ‘You’re getting paid what you deserve, and what you’re worth.’"
In Empire magazine’s recent issue, that pays tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, Sienna Miller has revealed just how generous the actor was before his death.
After privately battling with stage III and IV colon cancer over the last four years, Chadwick Boseman’s family announced his passing on August 29. But while battling cancer, Boseman was able to film an impressive number films, including 21 Bridges, the cop-action flick that he also produced.
In a snippet of Empire’s tribute issue — which spoke to those who had worked with the late actor over the years — Sienna Miller shared her experience with Chadwick Boseman on 21 Bridges. Namely, Miller recounted how Boseman took a pay cut to ensure that she was compensated fairly for her work.
As a producer on the film, Miller shared that Boseman had “been really active in trying to get me to do it” as he was a fan of her work. While not really interested in working at the time due to her daughter starting school, Miller agreed to the role of Detective Frankie Burns because she was a fan of Chadwick Boseman and “wanted to work with him”.
But in deciding to do 21 Bridges, Sienna Miller explained to the studio that the compensation she was seeking had to be fair to be worth the trouble. However, despite the big budget, the studio refused to meet her demands, so Chadwick Boseman donated part of his salary to get Miller the amount she requested.
“I didn’t know whether or not to tell this story, and I haven’t yet. But I am going to tell it because I think it’s a testament to who he was,” Sienna Miller said in the interview. “This was a pretty big-budget film, and I know that everybody understands about the pay disparity in Hollywood, but I asked for a number that the studio wouldn’t get to.”
“Chadwick ended up donating some of his salary to get me to the number that I had asked for. He said that that was what I deserved to be paid,” Miller continued. “It was about the most astounding thing that I’ve experienced. That kind of thing just doesn’t happen.”
Sienna Miller called the generous act “just unfathomable” as Chadwick Boseman offered to boost her pay with absolutely “no showiness” involved.
“He said, ‘You’re getting paid what you deserve, and what you’re worth’,” Miller recounted. “In the aftermath of this, I’ve told other male actor friends of mine that story and they all go very, very quiet and go home, and probably have to sit and think about things for a while.”
And as they should. We really do need more people like Chadwick Boseman in Hollywood. A true angel.