Julie Delpy, the star of Richard Linklater's critically-acclaimed romance trilogy "Before", has revealed that she insisted on equal pay for the third film in the series after receiving substantially less salary than Ethan Hawke for the earlier movies.
The "Before" trilogy started with 1995's "Before Sunrise", featuring Delpy and Ethan Hawke as two strangers Celine and Jesse, who decide to spend some time with each other in the Austrian city of Vienna.
The movie was followed by sequels -- "Before Sunset" (2004) and "Before Midnight" (2013), which were equally lauded by the critics for the story and performances of the two leads.
But behind the screen, Delpy was not paid at par with Hawke, the actor told Variety in a video interview from Zurich Film Festival.
"You know it's funny. I spent my life being criticised for criticising the fact there wasn't enough women (in this industry). I was very outspoken all my life and it gave me the reputation of being a pain in the a**."
The actor said she was raised by two feminists and she always thought of "equality as something that should be a complete normal thing".
"I am completely behind #MeToo, Time's Up, and all this. Everyone is talking about equality and we need to help women, but as a woman you know you're being paid less as a writer, as a director, as an actress.
"On the Before' movies, the first movie I think I was paid maybe a tenth of what Ethan was paid. The second movie I was paid half. The third movie I said, Listen guys, if I'm not paid the same, I won't do it," Delpy said.
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