Benedict Will Demand Equal Pay for Female Co-Star

DEADLINE: Putting your money where your mouth is, a matter you did have something to say about recently was pay equity and that its time or time’s up on not having a frank and fair discussion about that. From the remarks you gave to Radio Times magazine and the stance of your SunnyMarch production company, this is a priority for you but how do you think it needs to be addressed?

CUMBERBATCH: It’s important for us to acknowledge the pay gap and to do something about deliberately making a stance to correct that. It will take a great deal of effort, not just from women trying to break through but also men offering parity. I just think people need to know that men are supportive of this. I can only speak for myself, so I’m not speaking for mankind, but just to say that I think it’s incumbent on me and my position to seek and understanding, and what has to start with all this is transparency about such issues. Not in the public domain but between artists and their management and producers and that conversation, I can guarantee, is already starting to happen

DEADLINE: Really?

CUMBERBATCH: Absolutely. Look, it’s just a taboo subject. So, if it’s to change, we all need to sit around a table and act like grownups and go, “This is the pie and this is how the pie came to the table. This is how much of the pie you’re contributing, so there’s how much you should eat and it’s got nothing to do with gender and everything to do with parenting the workplace.”