Maura Tierney on wage gap: I’m always paid less than men

Larry King: A lot of discussion about gender and equality in Hollywood. How do you look at it?

Maura Tierney: Can you elaborate? Like, my personal experience or how I think more globally?

Larry King: You personal… yeah, have you had personal?

Maura Tierney: Yeah, I’m always paid less than the men I work with. I don’t think that’s ever not been true, regardless of the…

Larry King: In other words you get less than the male actors..

Maura Tierney: Yes.

Larry King: On “The Affair”?

Maura Tierney: Yes.

Larry King: And if you complain, where does it go?

Maura Tierney: I mean…

Larry King: Does your agent do the complaining?

Maura Tierney: It’s not something I complain about. I’m saying I recognize it. I… actors… I am grossly overpaid, so it’s a tricky situation for me personally to go there, but will I deny that it happens? No, it does.

Larry King: Does it annoy you?

Maura Tierney: I think I’m very lucky to be able to be an actor for a living. The most important thing for me at work is to do good work. If I felt that… Unfortunately I think because of my age it’s something I take for granted.

Larry King: How old are you?

Maura Tierney: 51. I think the younger generation of actresses are understanding this is something they don’t have to take for granted, and that’s something I’m very proud of them for. I think, it’s like I said, it’s sort of a bad habit to accept that as a fait accompli. What I’ve had to do in my career, which I think has helped, is to focus on the work. And the most important thing for me is to do the very best job, so I try not to let these outside things get in the way of a performance. Now, that perhaps isn’t as ballsy as I’d like to be. But I think being enabled just to do this job – I’m standing on the shoulders of a lot of women that have gone before me.

Larry King: You see things getting better?

Maura Tierney: I don’t know. I certainly see things getting more discussed, which hopefully is a beginning. You know…

Larry King: You would think it would

Maura Tierney: Things are talked about.

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