The Last of Us salary controversy: Pedro Pascal was paid 9 times more than Bella Ramsey

After revealing the 25 highest paid actors in Hollywood in 2022 and 2023, Variety magazine has now turned its attention to the world of television, presenting the salaries in this branch of entertainment.

The publication draws attention to several cases such as The Last of Us, where Pedro Pascal was paid $600,000 for each episode in which he played Joel. So far, nothing unusual or controversial, since we are talking about an established actor whose roles in Narcos, Game of Thrones and The Mandalorian have led him to earn the affection and respect of the public. What is strange, however, is the contrast with his co-star in the HBO series, Bella Ramsey, who earned $70,000 per episode for her role as Ellie.

The difference between the two (Pascal earned 9 times more than Ramsey, pocketing an extra half a million per episode) has led people to debate the pay gap between the two. Is it justified? According to those who think so, the actor has a much longer and proven track record, being his intervention in the series a greater claim and guarantee for HBO. On the other hand, those who say that the difference is exaggerated argue that Ramsey did not come from an unknown, but had an outstanding participation in Game of Thrones. In addition, the actress has a similar, if not greater, weight in the plot and a similar number of lines of dialogue.

Will the difference be reduced for the second season, will it even out, or will Ramsey be paid more per episode now that Ellie is the main protagonist of the story? It remains to be seen what will happen in the second season, just as it remains to be seen what changes HBO and Craig Mazin can make to the plot of The Last of Us: Part 2. The showrunner has warned that, having respected the original material so far, he no longer feels tied to it and feels able to change the most controversial death of the games.

Source | Variety