The Last of Us sweeps wherever it goes. The apocalyptic saga has become one of PlayStation’s most emblematic brands and, at the moment, it is taking a similar path on television. The eponymous HBO Max series has not stopped being on everyone’s lips since its premiere, although now it has returned to the limelight for another issue: the salaries of its protagonists.
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey give life to Joel and Ellie, characters that take us by the hand to tell us a story about loss in the context of a world ravaged by a fungus, the cordyceps. Now Variety magazine has revealed which are the 25 highest paid actors in Hollywood between 2022 and 2023 and some salaries have attracted a lot of attention, such as Pedro Pascal.
According to the publication, Pedro Pascal was paid $600,000 per episode of The Last of Us, which is not unreasonable considering his career (Game of Thrones, Narcos, The Mandalorian, etc). However, his partner and co-star, Bella Ramsey, stayed at $70,000 per episode.
Wage gap?
Is this difference justified or is this another case of pay gap? The debate is served: many argue that Pascal’s career supports the salary she receives in The Last of Us. However, Bella Ramsey is no stranger: the actress also participated in Game of Thrones and also plays a more important role in The Last of Us.
Whatever the reasons, it is not uncommon to see similar cases within the industry. This phenomenon particularly affects women, who see how their gender has an impact on the salary they receive in the end. In fact, a study conducted by two Spanish researchers (Sofía Izquierdo and María Navarro Paniagua) analyzed 1,344 films and 267 actors and actresses between 1980 and 2015. The conclusion? On average, actresses are paid one million euros less than actors.
In light of this, will they fix this pay disparity in the second season of The Last of Us?
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