Kirsten Dunst has revealed that she was paid considerably less than Tobey Magure for the Spider-Man trilogy.
In an interview with The Independent, Dunst said that despite landing the role of love interest Mary Jane Watson, she felt her compensation wasn't reflective of her co-star's success.
Dunst made her Mary Jane debut opposite Maguire in the title role in Sam Rami’s Spider-Man in 2002, followed by Spider-Man 2 in 2004, and Spider-Man 3 in 2007.
"The pay disparity between me and Spider-Man was very extreme," she said. "I didn't even think about it. I was just like, 'Oh yeah, Tobey [Maguire] is playing Spider-Man.'"
"But you know who was on the cover of the second Spider-Man poster?" she continued. "Spider-Man and ME."
The specific amount the Fargo actress made for her work in the Spider-Man franchise is unknown.
Tobey Maguire garnered $4 million starring as the titular superhero in the first film, then negotiated a salary of $17.5 million for the sequel, according to a 2007 article by Variety.
In 2017, Dunst talked to Variety about dealing with Hollywood's gender pay gap saying: "Because I was young, I thought, 'Oh wow, I'm getting paid a lot of money for the 'Spider-Man' movies.'"
"But definitely the men were getting paid more," she went on, adding: "So yes, I experienced that."
Dunst beat out other Hollywood lead actress to play Spider-Man's love interest, Mary Jane. People reported that during a 2019 episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Bosworth shared how she "tanked" during her audition.
"She was perfect for [it]," Bosworth said about Dunst.
According to a 2000 article by The Guardian, Dunst also beat out actresses Mena Suvari and Alicia Witt.
It comes as Dunst revealed she's open to returning to the Spider-Man franchise to reprise her role as Mary Jane.
Speaking to Variety, she said: "I would do it. Why not? That would be fun. I would never say no to something like that. I'd be old MJ at this point with little Spidey babies."