Since the advent of #MeToo and the controversy surrounding pay deals between male and female actors, a number of people have stood up and said enough is enough.
Michael B. Jordan and Brie Larson both have agreed to have inclusion riders - that thing that Frances McDormand was talking about in her Oscar speech - attached to their contracts going forward, whilst Benedict Cumberbatch has made a pointed stand on his principles.
In an interview with the Radio Times, Cumberbatch stated that he's no longer going to take a role in a film where his female co-stars aren't being paid the same. "Equal pay and a place at the table are the central tenets of feminism," said Cumberbatch. "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.'"
As well as this, Cumberbatch also talked about how he plans to shift his production company to more female-led projects in the future. "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!"
Cumberbatch can currently be seen in Avengers: Infinity War, which is in cinemas now.
Via Radio Times