13 Times Celebs Used Their Own Power To Help Other Celebs Make SO Much More Money

Chadwick Boseman once took a pay cut so his costar Sienna Miller could get paid what she felt she deserved for a film they starred in together.

Amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes in Hollywood, one growing trend is celebrities opening up about their pay (or lack of) for the well-known TV shows and movies they worked on. However, this isn't the first time actors have gotten real about the lengths they've gone to fight for what they want or help their colleagues in doing so. In fact, here are 13 times that celebs have helped other celebs get a higher payday than before:

1. Jessica Chastain helped Octavia Spencer make five times her asking price for an upcoming movie that Jessica was producing.

Steve Granitz / WireImage / Getty Images

“[Jessica] was like, ‘It’s time women get paid the same as men!’” Octavia said in 2018, according to Vanity Fair. “We were dropping f-bombs and getting it all out there. And then I said, ‘But here’s the thing, women of color, on that spectrum, we make far less than white women...’ She was quiet. She had no idea that that’s what it was like for women of color.” Jessica later explained on Twitter how she helped Octavia get more money. "[Octavia] had been underpaid for so long. When I discovered that, I realized that I could tie her deal to mine to bring up her quote. Men should start doing this with their female costars," she said.

2. Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons, Kunal Nayyar, Simon Helberg, and Johnny Galecki took a $100,000 pay cut to help Melissa Rauch and Mayim Bialik increase their salary.

Paul Archuleta / FilmMagic / Getty Images

The Hollywood Reporter said that in 2017, the cast members taking a cut were making $1 million per episode (before the cut), while the two women were making $175,000 per episode based on a previous contract and likely ended up at $425,000 per episode.

3. Chris Pratt helped Bryce Dallas Howard up her price on projects related to Jurassic World after she made less than him while starring in the movie.

Axelle / FilmMagic / Getty Images

Last year, Bryce Dallas Howard opened up to Insider about a 2018 report stating she made $8 million to Chris Pratt's $10 million for starring in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. As Bryce told Insider, she began a three-movie deal for the Jurassic World franchise in 2014 and ultimately "was paid so much less than the reports even said, so much less." However, Bryce credited Chris with helping her receive parity on Jurassic World projects that weren't previously negotiated, such as video games and theme park rides. "And 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," she said.

4. Chadwick Boseman took a pay cut to help Sienna Miller increase her salary for 21 Bridges.

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

“It was about the most astounding thing that I've experienced,” she told Empire about their 2019 film. “That kind of thing just doesn't happen. He said, ‘You're getting paid what you deserve, and what you're worth.’ It's just unfathomable to imagine another man in that town behaving that graciously or respectfully. In the aftermath of this, I've told other male actor friends of mine that story, and they all go very, very quiet and go home and probably have to sit and think about things for a while. But there was no showiness, it was, ‘Of course, I'll get you to that number, because that's what you should be paid.’”

5. William H. Macy supported Emmy Rossum asking for parity on Shameless.

Jon Kopaloff / FilmMagic / Getty Images

According to Variety, Emmy Rossum was paid less than William H. Macy for the first seven seasons of Shameless. For Season 8, she wanted above parity to make up for the past years. William was supportive of Emmy through her contract renegotiations. “I’ll tell you the person who supported me the most was William H. Macy. To have the man counterpart on my show be like, 'Yes, she does deserve this and more' was so validating. And after it became public, it was a quick resolution," she told the Hollywood Reporter in 2017. Later that same year, William also addressed his advocacy for Emmy, telling People: “It’s a no-brainer. It’s just sort of obvious. Emmy is in most of the scenes, she works harder than anybody else, she’s a brilliant actress. She’s the glue of the cast.”

6. Will Smith gave Aunjanue Ellis and the rest of the King Richard cast bonuses.

Momodu Mansaray / WireImage / Getty Images

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Will Smith gave the King Richard bonuses after Warner Brothers decided to opt for a simultaneous release in theaters and on HBO Max. In the film, Aunjanue played Oracene Price, a tennis coach and Venus and Serena Williams's mother. She told The Breakfast Club that writing a letter to Will about her compensation was the impetus for the bonuses. "I did that job, and I'm thankful for it. But, you know, I could have gotten paid better. So, I told him this, and he did something about it. As a result of his responding to the letter that I wrote to him, not only did he address that with increasing my pay, but the other actors also got their pay increased, which is the proof of when Black women do well, everybody does well," she said.

7. David Schwimmer encouraged his Friends cast members to band together on salary negotiations.

Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images/David Bjerke / NBCU Photo Bank / Getty Images

According to Insider, Matthew Perry revealed in his memoir last year that David Schwimmer was the Friends cast mate who suggested they renegotiate their contracts together after the first season became a hit. "He was by far the one in the best position to negotiate," Matthew Perry wrote, according to the publication. "I could not believe what he was saying. Needless to say, I was thrilled. I was perfectly happy to take advantage of his generosity of spirit." By Season 8, of which there'd eventually be two more, Perry, Schwimmer, and the rest of the main cast ― Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, and Courteney Cox ― were making $1 million per episode. This was a major increase from the $22,500 Perry said he made for the pilot episode.

8. Matt LeBlanc gave the Modern Family cast advice on renegotiating their contracts.

Momodu Mansaray / Getty Images / Jason LaVeris / FilmMagic / Getty Images

In 2012, according to the Hollywood Reporter, five adult actors on Modern Family ― Eric Stonestreet, Sofía Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ty Burrell, and Julie Bowen ― scored a major pay increase from roughly $65,000 per episode to over $150,000. (Ed O'Neill also reportedly received a pay bump, though his contract operated differently as he'd joined the show at a higher rate. Nevertheless, he joined his costars' lawsuit over their contracts.) A few years later, in 2017, Matt LeBlanc told USA Today that Jesse reached out to him for advice amid negotiations, given the Friends cast's success in securing more money for themselves years prior. "You have to walk out, or they won’t take you seriously," Matt told USA Today was the advice he gave Jesse. "If you stick together, you have power."

9. Tyler Perry gave Cicely Tyson $1 million for one day of work.

George Pimentel / Getty Images

In 2022, Tyler Perry told AARP that he "took care" of the late Cicely Tyson for her last 15 years of her life. She died in 2021. In particular, Tyler said he paid her $1 million for a day's work on his 2017 film Why Did I Get Married? "I wanted to make sure she knew that there were people who valued her," he said, claiming she made just $6,000 for her Oscar-nominated performance in the 1972 film Sounder. "I loved working with her. And it makes me feel great that I was in a position to give this incredible woman some security in her latter years," he said.

10. Tyler Perry was the first person to ever pay Taraji P. Henson $500,000 for a role.

Mike Coppola / WireImage / Getty Images

"I was never in a position where I could not take a job; by the grace of God, they have all been really good characters. But it was never a situation where I was like, 'I’m not going to do that.' Now, I’m finally there," Taraji P. Henson said in an interview for Variety in 2019.

11. Emma Stone revealed that some of her male costars (who she didn't mention by name) took pay cuts so that her rate would increase.

Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

"And that's something they do for me because they feel it's what's right and fair," she told Out in 2017 without naming the costars. "That's something that's also not discussed, necessarily ― that our getting equal pay is going to require people to selflessly say, 'That's what's fair.' If my male costar, who has a higher quote than me but believes we are equal, takes a pay cut so that I can match him, that changes my quote in the future and changes my life," she said.

12. Adam Shankman told a studio to give Jennifer Lopez what she wants.

Frazer Harrison / WireImage / Getty Images/Steve Granitz / FilmMagic / Getty Images

For 2001's The Wedding Planner, Jennifer Lopez received $9 million. At the time, it was the most a Latinx woman had made for a film, according to People. Jennifer opened up about achieving that record-breaking pay day in a 2020 Variety interview with her agent at the time-turned-production company head, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas. In addition to Elaine, Jennifer also credited the film's director Adam Shankman with convincing the studio to pay her $9 million. "You were my agent, and you were asking for a certain price that you thought I merited, and they were buckling back," Jennifer told Elaine. "Then, [Adam Shankman] came to one of my record signings, and he said, 'Give her whatever she wants.' The line was around the block."

13. James Gandolfini reportedly gave 16 Sopranos costars a $33,000 bonus.

Evan Agostini / Getty Images

According to People, in 2021, a book on the history of HBO reported that production on The Sopranos was almost stalled after Season 3 due to serious contract negotiations between James Gandolfini and the network over increased compensation. After settling on a new $13 million pay for the season, James reportedly gave 16 cast-mates $33,000 each, spending over $500,000 of his new salary on them.