Westworld: Evan Rachel Wood will be paid same as male co-stars in season 3

'I have never been paid the same as my male counterparts… Never, never'

Evan Rachel Wood as Dolores in HBO's 'Westworld'

Earlier this month, HBO promised that – thanks to the #MeToo movement and encouragement from Reese Witherspoon – they would fix their gender pay gap.

Already, the effects are being felt, as Evan Rachel Wood, the leading actor in Westworld, will now receive equal pay to her male colleagues.

“I think I’m just now to the point where I’m getting paid the same as my male co-stars,” Wood told The Wrap, saying she would be paid the same as Ed Harris and Anthony Hopkins for the series unconfirmed third season.

She continued: “I was just told that, you know, ‘Hey you’re, you’re getting equal pay.’ And I was like [gasp]. And I almost got emotional. I was like, ‘I have never been paid the same as my male counterparts … Never, never.'

“I’m always fighting for that. And I have turned down projects — Westworld, it’s like, I get it a little more. It’s like, ‘Well, you’re Anthony Hopkins or Ed Harris.’ But I think now we’re all doing equal amounts of work and really hard work.”

HBO boss Casey Bloys previously said they were proactively looking to make sure there were no pay disparities on shows, something Wood believes is genuine.

“There is a lot of trying to make things equal and trying to make things fair,” she said. “But this is the first time that somebody made a point of being like, ‘Hey you’re getting this. And you deserve it.’ And that was nice.”

Westworld returns later this month for its second series, airing weekly on HBO and Sky Atlantic starting 22 April. Read our review of the first two episodes here.