Bryce Dallas Howard says she was paid “so much less” than Chris Pratt for Jurassic World sequels
The actor said she was left "at a great disadvantage" during 2014 contract negotiations for Jurassic World
Aux News Bryce Dallas Howard
These days, it’s still a man’s world, even when the world is Jurassic. According to Bryce Dallas Howard, she was paid “so much less” than co-star Chris Pratt for her role in Jurassic World Dominion, the result of a 2014 salary negotiation Howard says left her disadvantaged. Discussing a 2018 Variety report that discovered Howard was paid $2 million less than Pratt for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Howard reveals the pay discrepancy was even wider than the reports stated.
“The reports were so interesting because I was paid so much less than the reports even said, so much less,” Howard says, per Insider. “When I started negotiating for Jurassic [World], it was 2014, and it was a different world, and I was at a great disadvantage. And, unfortunately, you have to sign up for three movies and so your deals are set.”
Although a pay gap beyond the $2 million mark is hard to stomach, Howard says Pratt did his part to advocate for her when and where he could. Although her onscreen contract dealings seem to have been set years ago, Howard says Pratt always pushed for the pair to receive equal pay when it came to alternate revenue streams flowing from the franchise.
“What I will say is that Chris and I have discussed it, and whenever there was an opportunity to move the needle on stuff that hadn’t been already negotiated, like a game or a ride, he literally told me, ‘You guys don’t even have to do anything. I’m gonna do all the negotiating. We’re gonna be paid the same and you don’t have to think about this, Bryce,’” Howard shares. “I love him so much for doing that. I really do, because I’ve been paid more for those kinds of things than I ever was for the movie.”
While Pratt’s support of Howard is admirable and necessary, the principle of needing a higher-paid male co-star to go to bat for equal compensation is an all-too-familiar Hollywood trope—and one of the bad ones, too. After all, there’s already plenty of onscreen dinosaur action in Dominion— it’s high time prehistoric pay structures took their final bow.
152 Comments
Imagine being in those movies AND making less money than Chris Pratt.That all sucks 🙁
and having to constantly deflect invitations to prayer groups by the guy who *says* he will “go to bat for you” in salary negotiations…
Did you even read the article? He did go to bat for her and it made a difference. And Chris Pratt was a much much bigger draw than Bryce. Still is. There is no reason he shouldn’t have been paid more than her.
I don’t particularly care for Pratt but this is a key point. Nobody has ever gone to see a movie for Bryce Dallas Howard.
Yeah, this is the part people refuse to accept. Bryce is more talented, obviously, and a better person, likely. But she isn’t a bigger box office draw
“Bryce is more talented, obviously, and a better person, likely.”
I’m sorry, what? That’s funny. You’re funny.
“Bryce is more talented”
Than what?
This, I adore Bryce and think she is a fabulous actor, and I hope person as well. That said of the 2 leads, Pratt is the bigger draw, is he the better actor, no. Name recognition and the ability to put asses in seats matters as much of not more, sadly, than actual acting ability.
I don’t think people *refuse* to accept it. It’s more that this whole thing is cyclical. Men are given “box office power” star roles, men prove their bankability, men make more. In a world where most movies are franchises, and most franchises are led by male characters, male actors have way more chances for “bankability.” (i.e. the entire MCU has only two movies with female leads, give or take, not a big Marvel fan)
I did read the article, this was a comment on whether his advocacy for her was conditioned on her going along with his new Christianity which is informing more and more of his life these days.
“was conditioned on her going along with his new Christianity” I saw that mentioned no where in this article. Nor was it mentioned in either of the linked articles.
yeah you wouldn’t, it wasn’t mentioned in the article, it was a little joke that I made, and since I didn’t write the article, it wouldn’t be there. Did NOT expect so many people to be so defensive about Chris Pratt’s born again status but then I didn’t expect there to be so many absolutely rabid Johnny Depp stans in the world either.
Oh I was just confused LOL, I don’t give to fucks about Pratt’s religious beliefs or any actor’s for that matter lol. They are there to entertain me nothing more nothing less.
yeah theyre just assuming thats how all Christians behave
Yeah that’s what happens when pretty much anything political or religious comes up, more so political. If you are A or B you 100% support the worst that group believes.
I know he belongs to a spin-off of a questionable church, but man people have taken that and run with it way beyond what any evidence actually indicates.
He does run around calling himself Chris(t).
Didn’t he put a big ass cross on his front lawn?
Hey, I got the joke!
do me a favor and explain it to the others, would you? Because this feels an awful lot interacting with Johnny Depp stans about why their boy *might* be guilty in spite of their total certainty that he’s not, or the time I had a bunch of Gizmodo commenters spend 24 hours correcting me that “automatic weapons don’t exist” LOL. When you trigger the hive mind it can be a little jarring.
Sorry, that’s on you!
yeah that’s what I would do in your shoes LOL
Being Christian makes someone a bad person now huh? I mean we can’t all be Ezra Miller.
I am blown away about how so many people have taken my joking comment and absolutely SPRINTED with it out of the stadium LOL. It’s ironic too because one of the first responses to my comment was about how people have taken his involvement with a sketchy church and run with it, much like what is being done with my comment. But hey, gotta let those outrage snowballs keep rolling.
Was he? Like when the first Jurassic World was filming his only credit was appearances in Parks and Rec, which was a great show but not exactly a ratings smash, and he was not the star either. Yes, Guardians came out a year before Jurassic World but his contract was negotiated before that exploded, because that is how movies work.
Ok, that’s fair. But what had BDH been in before that? One of the worst M. Night Shamalamdingdong movies? He was still a bigger star than she was.
Bryce was the colead in a Terminator movie, the main Villain in a Twilight movie, the star of a Shamalyan movie and Chris Pratt was… a dude who was the 4th lead (generously) of a barely avoiding cancellation show. He got huge… later and is most definitely a bigger star now, but at the time was the definition of Just A Guy. The idea that he somehow was the draw that brought people to Jurassic World is laughable.
You can’t expect people to read articles when there’s a chance to be snide about Chris Pratt. That’s not how it works around here.
“I love him so much for doing that. I really do, because I’ve been paid more for those kinds of things than I ever was for the movie.” Looks like he did what he said he would do. She confirms it with the above quote.
I don’t doubt it, this was a comment on whether his advocacy for her was conditioned on her going along with his new Christianity which is informing more and more of his life these days.
..his advocacy for her was conditioned on her going along with his new Christianity which is informing more and more of his life these days. Based on other info you have read from other non Giz sources, or interviews seen? Or are you basing that statement/assertion on the say so of the incredible Journalists here at the AVClub, Jezebel or the other incredible Gizzmodo Media sites, who clearly do NOT have an axe to grind with him…Just curious.
I am doing that based on his social media posts which reference Christianity, his acceptance of Jesus as his lord and savior, his acknowledgement in 2017 that he wouldn’t have won a Teen Choice Award “with the ease and grace I have in my heart without my lord and savior, Jesus Christ” LOL. I would not have expected there to be Chris Pratt stans out there who are as touchy about innocuous jokes as the Johnny Depp stans I met during that trial but here we are. I hope that satisfies your curiosity but I suspect you will have more to say anyway.
Well, I always have more to say. But thanks for your response. I wouldn’t call myself a STAN, mostly because I am too old for such lingo, but more because Chris Pratt is pretty vanilla, all things considered. “He’s fine” is my general attitude. Idk if I’m touchy? I thought my posts were pretty chill.I do often wonder why such a non entity of an actor takes so much shit for doing, idk, normal shit? And clearly, this site as well as other Gizz sites love to shit on him for essentially “nothing”.Enjoy your day.
his overall “vanilla-ness” to me as well made the…5 or 6?…comments calling me out specifically for what I thought was a pretty innocuous joke speculating that he might be the type of religious person to try and coerce people into “being saved” or whatever (something with which I have direct personal experience…it does happen) pretty surprising. Frankly I miss pre-Christianity Chris Pratt, he seemed to have a spark of madness which I enjoyed (watch Parks & Rec or even Zero Dark Thirty to see this, and then look at him now, he almost seems neutered). He does have the one trait of people who were born again, which is an obnoxious tendency to talk about it all the time and “share their testimony”, which is great if you love it that much, except I won’t be paying attention to you any more LOL.
yeah it sucks when one tells a joke no one finds funny there there it gets better
bigot much? would you say the same thing to a person who practices Judiasm or Islam?
no, because in my personal experience no one is as obnoxious about sharing their religious beliefs with people who never asked for it than Christians. I’m sorry, did I hit a nerve? LOL
Empty snark is boring and very 2017.
I disagree and will keep doing it randomly just to piss you off and clash with the standards you set for the world LOL.
You’re annoying, but you’re too dull and impotent of a troll to “piss off” anybody.
you’re funny. I like you.
Imagine being BDH and thinking you deserved anywhere near Pratt’s salary? Then or now.
Guys, can we stop pretending to be shocked when an MCU superstar and beloved TV actor gets paid more than some lady who was fifth-billed in The Help?If Chris Pratt makes more than Julia Roberts, it’s news. If he makes more than Bryce Dallas Howard, it’s obvious.
Right. That was Howard’s only acting credit at the time.
Would you prefer “the muse behind M. Night Shymalan masterpieces The Village and Lady in the Water,” or “definitely not the worst part of Spider-Man 3, everyone’s favorite Spider-Man movie where Peter Parker inexplicably turns emo.”
Just be honest about their actual respective resumes. If his really justifies a larger fee for this movie, you don’t have to lie about and downplay hers.
Sure, you’ve got Chris Pratt, star of the wildly successful Guardians of the Galaxy, beloved Deadwood and Parks and Recreation actor, against… Ron Howard’s daughter.Again, these are two actors with wildly different resumes, and The Help was, like, Howard’s biggest role. That or her ninth-billed appearance in one of the Twilight sequels.
Lol, how are you including less stuff in her resume than you originally were? It is obvious you are not doing anything in good faith now. She was also more than just Ron Howard’s daughter. Also, when did Guardians come out? When was Pratt cast in Jurassic World?
some lady who was fifth-billed in The Help?Hey, be nice to store-brand Jessica Chastain.
Except the contracts were set long before Guardians of the Galaxy back when Pratt was known for being the idiot boyfriend/MouseRat lead singer on Parks and Rec.
That sucks, but I’m assuming pay structure was commensurate to star power.
Another story exposing Chris Pratt as a decent human being. That piece of shit…
Too bad his whole family are insignia carrying members of a domestic terrorist organization.
lol you people are funny/
Somebody’s jealous and needs a hug…
Of course he got paid more, he was fresh off GotG. Also, BDH is a literal hollywood elite and grew up rich. But yes, sexism
Pretty sure both Howard and Pratt were cast in Jurassic World before Guardians was released.
he literally told me, ‘You guys don’t even have to do anything. I’m gonna do all the negotiating. We’re gonna be paid the same and you don’t have to think about this, Bryce,’”Did she get that in writing?
“I love him so much for doing that. I really do, because I’ve been paid more for those kinds of things than I ever was for the movie.” He did the thing he said he would do. The quote confirms it.
But have you considered people just want to dunk on Chris Pratt without reading the article in which he comes out looking pretty damn good.
I’ve been paid more for those kinds of things than I ever was for the movie.”Sounds like she did.
not trying to drag chris, but it’s funny how even when he’s doing something good the optics are still weird. like this could just as easily be construed as almost more sexist: ‘don’t you worry your pretty little head i’ll do all the big scary negotiating’
Chris Pratt is pretty much always doing something good. Everybody who works with him loves him. It’s only the Gen y and loser zoomers who have any problem with him and keeps insisting that he’s anything other than a very decent individual.
“Chris Pratt is pretty much always doing something good.”
Not really. I mean, what’s one thing he’s done besides advocating for Howard?
i mean i don’t think he’s a very good actor, but for what it’s worth i think i’m technically a geriatric millennial.
I’m sorry I have a problem with belonging to domestic terrorist organizations.
“Not trying to drag Chis”Proceeds to drag Chris.
It’s pretty easy to construe anything someone does as bad if you’re determined to do so.
Yeah, it looks like white knighting.
And if it was, that’s because he had far more negotiating leverage than she did. He was and is a bigger draw, and probably could have negotiated more money for himself in those ancillary deals if he hadn’t demanded she be paid the same. She certainly doesn’t seem upset by it.
Powerful stars going to bat for their less-well-represented co-workers isn’t “white knighting” unless you actively want it to be. He had the better negotiating position and used it for his co-star’s benefit, which she appreciated.
I expect he’ll continue to benefit from this gesture for a very long time.
He did something decent, never broadcast it, and then years later his co-star talked about it in a positive way.It’s weird to try and find the worst possible angle on this when the institutional sexism that’s actually bothering Bryce Dallas Howard is right there.
I didn’t think “the optics are weird” at all. He used his leverage to go to bat for a coworker. That’s great. Your description of how it could be read would definitely be a weird way to look at it, but that came from your mind, not anyone else’s. So, maybe it’s not the optics that are weird but just your own feelings about Pratt.
“The optics” tend to be whatever people need them to in order to prove the argument that they’re trying to make.
Optics = interpretation.
No, she got it in money. Did you read the fucking article?
Considering his tone, maybe he doesn’t think she’s capable of writing.
After reading the article, all I get is, Pratt lied to Bryce.
Pratt is arguably the bigger star here. Should she have been paid more? Probably, but it’s not surprising Pratt had a better contract. Pay discrepancies are obviously a problem, but there are still other factors that make an actor more valuable than other actors. Hot take time; It’s hard to feel sorry for her when she’s Ron Howards daughter and had every door held open for her.
Yeah, my view of Pratt is… mixed. But at the time they signed these contracts, he was arguably the biggest star in the world. He’d just had Guardians and the Lego Movie and was probably the most bankable actor on the planet. It’s not a surprise that he got a bigger payday than anyone else on that movie.
“But at the time they signed these contracts, he was arguably the biggest star in the world.”
No, he absolutely was not. He was DEFINITELY more famous than her, but the biggest star in the world? OK!
I guess it depends on when in 2014 the contract was actually signed but before Guardians came out Pratt was still a nobody. He might have been the newest hot thing in Hollywood if he signed a month after that movie, but he was nowhere near the biggest star in the world, and probably still not much more recognizable than Howard was. I mean, he’s a much bigger star now, hasn’t peaked yet, and is still nowhere near the biggest star or most bankable actor (On the planet!). He’s not even the biggest or most profitable MCU actor.
Guardians of the Galaxy was shot in 2013 so would have been in post-production at the time. Even if the producers of Jurassic Park had not seen any dailys they would know that Pratt was about to go supernova just by headlining a major MCU project.
He was pretty big there for a couple years. Doing Jurassic World and Guardians after his breakout performance on Parks was huge.
Lol, no he was not.
Watch out, that kind of logic doesn’t fit in here.(But you’re 100% correct.)
I started re-watching Parks & Rec for the first time since it originally aired a couple days ago. Really revived my appreciation for Chris Pratt, who had by now become groan-worthy to me. It’s worth a go.
he ruined that show. i stopped watching during season two mainly because i couldn’t stand Andy
So what exactly are you arguing with here? You seem to agree both that pay discrepancies are a problem in general and that in this specific situation she has a legitimate gripe about getting paid less than Pratt.
Pratt is arguably the bigger star here. Arguably? Dude was the leading star for 2 hit Marvel movies and is very clearly a much bigger “name” than Bryce Dallas Howard.
Dude was the leading star for 2 hit Marvel movies You have to remember, their contract negotiations took place in 2014, but at the time Pratt was still the bigger name having just finished up Parks and Recs.
Yeah, my mind didn’t really process the time frame very well. That’s a fair point.
Pratt’s middle name is the rather lackluster “Michael”. Howard’s middle name is “Dallas”, an entire major city. How can that name be smaller than Pratt’s?
Christopher Michael Pratt has 23 letters and is worth 41 points according to the rules of Scrabble whereas Bryce Dallas Howard only has 17 and is worth just 30 so obviously Pratt is the bigger name. It’s simple maths.
The word is “math”, you poncy British twit.
Think you’ll find it’s “maths” you cretin. MathematicS not Mathematic.
Sceptic Tanks have no right to be lecturing anyone on the use of the English language and the fact you luddites still use Imperial for all your measurements makes me think that you probably shouldn’t be lecturing anyone about anything numbers related either!
It’s where she was conceived.
Well, you’ve got me there. Touché
Boy it sure would be great if people wouldn’t need to have it explained every time this comes up that if she’s Ron Howard’s daughter and all the advantages that go with it, how much worse the problem must be for actresses who don’t have any kind of leverage.
Who?
Guess who did not have to accept those roles.. so tired of all the crying after the fact. You don’t like how much you’re getting paid, don’t do the work. That’s simple. Don’t go whine about it later.
The picture accompanying this story does not scream “equal star power.”
Yeah, it screams “I brought a hooker with shitty taste to a premiere”.
I’d say it screams “Pay the lady a decent wage so she can buy a dress that doesn’t look like it’s falling apart.”
Also a better wig
C’mon! I think his wig looks decent.
WTF. She should sue about that photo, not the pay gap.
Wait a second, the star of an MCU movie and part of the ensemble of a long-running, highly-regarded sitcom made more money than the daughter of a journeyman director???
Yeah, no shit.
Let’s get real Bryce. No audience wanted you in those films. If you weren’t the daughter of Ron Howard you wouldn’t be getting any film jobs. Be thankful, STFU and go deposit your check.
“Hey guys, you want to go see the new Dallas Bryce Howard movie this weekend?” “You mean the one with Chris Pratt? Hell yeah!”
No one has ever referred to the Jurassic movies as Chris Pratt or BDH films.
And Bryce Dallas Howard, I’ll bet, made more than Andy Buckley, who apparently played someone named Scott. This doesn’t disprove current Hollywood gender bias any more than Howard’s claim proves it. Bigger stars make more money.
The only disadvantage you have, Bryce, is that you’re not a box-office star. Thats it!
Here’s Gillian Anderson being offered half as much as David Duchovny … for the X-Files revival in 2015 contract negotiations, not the original series after she’d eventually reached parity back then during the original run.https://www.vox.com/2016/1/22/10816036/gillian-anderson-x-files-payI’m guessing the pay offer eventually reached equality again when she pointed out they just may not have had a viable revival without her.
Doubly odd — isn’t Anderson a bigger star than Duchovny?
Not really? Duchovny has had several big leading man things since X-Files. Like the Californication show.
Hmm, really though? Looking at Wikipedia _all_ I see is Californication, other than some guest parts. Meanwhile Anderson has done a million things. I mean I don’t know, I never watched Californication, maybe it’s huge? But on the surface she’s worked way more and way more interestingly than he has.
Eh. She’s had probably a more varied career since the X-Files, but he was the bona fide star of another successful show (Californication), so it’s kind of a wash. Still ludicrous that they didn’t offer them both the same rate, though.
She needs a better agent
Yeah, but she has to understand that Pratt’s character is the star. Everyone loves…Toby? Owen? Hunter? It’s some name.
Meanwhile, the only reason people go is for the dinosaurs.
Wait…Tom Hanks was in it?
Maybe she should have had her dad do her negotations for her. Pretty sure he opened some doors for her already. And why should she get equal pay when she is the lesser known actor of the two at the time?
Gotta say, a difference of $10m and $8m, given their respective career trajectories, isn’t bad.
In between the two Jurassic World movies, BDH did Pete’s Dragon, some McConaughey thing and the Black Mirror episode.
Pratt did was knee-deep in the MCU, Lego and did the Jennifer Lawrence thing that made money, but may actually be the beginning of the Pratt Collapse (Because people equate character and actor)
One thing I never see talked about in all of these stories is shooting schedules. I can assume that Pratt and BDH were on set for similar lengths of time and they likely had to travel to the same spots.
But I remember the Jessica Chastain/Matt Damon controversy over the Martian and my first thought was, “Damon must have worked damn near every day of that shoot.”
So, if we’re talking equal pay for equal days, let’s find out the number of days.
Sorry but BDH isn’t a bigger draw than Pratt. He puts more butts in the seat he should get more money. Sorry this doesn’t fit into your sexist narrative but facts are facts.
TIL Dr. Crusher was in a Jurassic Park movie. Weird dress though, very 2364.
I’m confused as to why someone who isn’t nearly as big of a star as someone else thinks that she should be paid the same amount. She was easily replaceable in those films, Pratt wasn’t. Honestly she is lucky they even had her in the rest of them and that she wasn’t Indiana Jones’d right out of those movies.
It’s kind of hard for me to feel bad for a nepotism baby who didn’t learn enough from her father to negotiate better? And over millions of dollars, no less. She has literally never had to try for anything in her life (career-wise), even if she claims she does lol
I agree with the majority in the comments. Sexism has NOTHING to do with this. It’s just that the man is always the bigger star and should be paid more. It’s not because we value women less as actors. Of course not! It’s simple economics. Just like how men in the workplace get paid more than women for the same work.
I bet Jessica Chastain would have received equal pay.
Leave Amy Adams Lite out of it!
#NEVERFORGET
OMFG
yep. pay the women more Liam says. pay the men less the reporter says. lol.
I like Howard, but she’s not a big star, and even Pratt’s harshest critic will have to agree that he’s the biggest draw here. She seemed to have a good thing going early in her career, but then a few bad Shyamalan movies slowed her momentum considerably.My guess is, she’s very likely to follow in her dad’s footsteps and turn a good-but-not-spectacular acting career into a much more successful directing career.
She’s already got some quality TV directing under her belt.
Goodness. If Hollywood royalty like BDH gets hosed on deals like this, what chance do ordinary actors have?
Hardly surprising though in fairness both of them could have been replaced by wooden planks for all the difference it made to the performances on screen. Much cheaper too.
Movie stars get paid more than actors, and for good reason.
They made sequels for that film. Very interesting
Well yeah, he’s a much bigger star, his character was the lead of the movies, and you will absolutely not be getting me to feel bad for Ron Howard’s wealthy privileged nepotism daughter.
These high profile creatives are the ultimate free agents. . . If they have issues with pay, they have issues with their representation, not society.
Oh man, I feel so bad for her. If only her father was a billionaire movie-industry-tycoon or something. Hang in there, BDH, you’ll pull through eventually.
Also, funny how Buzzfeed liberals only care about income inequality when it affects the most privileged people on earth. Remember when we were supposed to be upset over Jennifer Lawrence’s salary for some reason?
The ridiculousness of Chris Pratt getting paid more than his co-start aside, can we all agree they are both way overpaid for what they do? I mean, getting paid to deal with the unending and sometimes unwanted attention that comes with stardom is one thing, but pretending either of their performances rates that kind of payday is laughable.
That shouldn’t be an issue anymore.
This just in: The guy who played Han Solo also made more than the person who played . . .um, Nina in The Wanderers.
yes but Karen Allen looks way better wearing nothing but a tee shirt
This reminds me of when Jessica Chastian complained that she made less than Matt Damon in The Martian. Like, one is a bankable star who is a reliable draw and Carrie’s large swaths of the film on his shoulders acting by himself, the other is Jessica Chastain. Don’t get me wrong, I think she’s great, but she really couldn’t be expected to open a movie based on her name alone. Damon could. Same with Pratt.
Neither of them seems to know how to dress.I hate Chris Pratt but does Howard bring anything to any project she’s in? Other than a kinda cute face?
Bryce Dallas Howard should have lived in a van instead of being Ron Howard’s daughter, this is clearly god rewarding sacrifice and Chris would certainly agree with me.