Exclusive: Mark Wahlberg refused to approve Christopher Plummer unless he was paid

Mark Wahlberg refused to approve Christopher Plummer as a replacement for Kevin Spacey in All the Money in the World unless he was paid over a million dollars for the reshoot, USA TODAY has learned.
Wahlberg had co-star approval in his contract, two people familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly about it tell USA TODAY.


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"What he said was, 'I will not approve Christopher Plummer unless you pay me.' And that's how he (expletive) them," says one person.

a man holding a dog: Christopher Plummer stars as the ultra-rich J. Paul Getty in 'All the Money in the World.'
© Giles Keyte Christopher Plummer stars as the ultra-rich J. Paul Getty in 'All the Money in the World.'
Another Hollywood insider says Wahlberg's lawyer formally vetoed the Oscar winner in a letter to financiers until his demand for additional payment was met.

A lawyer and a rep for Wahlberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His talent agency, William Morris Endeavor, which took part in negotiating the contract, had no comment. USA TODAY also reached out to reps for Plummer and co-star Michelle Williams.
a group of people in front of a crowd: Fletcher Chace (Mark Wahlberg) helps Gail Harris (Michelle Williams) deal with the high-profile kidnapping of her son in 'All the Money in the World.'
© Claudio Iannone Fletcher Chace (Mark Wahlberg) helps Gail Harris (Michelle Williams) deal with the high-profile kidnapping of her son in 'All the Money in the World.'

The news comes as the pay gap between Wahlberg and Williams spirals into a war of words over what was or was not in their contracts.

The Wrap reported Thursday that Wahlberg, who was paid $1.5 million for his "more extensive" All the Money in the World reshoots over the Thanksgiving holiday, did not have reshoots included in his contract and was therefore able to negotiate more pay for his extra time.

The Wrap said Williams' contract included reshoots, contributing to why she was paid just an $80 per diem for her time. That works out to Williams being paid less than one-tenth of 1% of her male co-star.

Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams, Ridley Scott posing for a photo: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams and Ridley Scott at the December premiere of 'All the Money in the World.'
© Kevin Winter/Getty Images Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams and Ridley Scott at the December premiere of 'All the Money in the World.'
But a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly about it tells USA TODAY that is incorrect. Both actors had reshoots in their contracts and both actors were in Europe filming for approximately the same number of days.

Ridley Scott’s Getty kidnapping drama was hastily reshot the week of Thanksgiving after a cascade of sexual misconduct allegations were made public against Spacey, who had starred in the drama as billionaire J. Paul Getty.

Wahlberg and Williams are both represented by WME. Actors pay a team of agents, managers and lawyers an average of 10% of their salaries to advocate for them. Talent agencies commonly argue its their fiduciary duty to get the best monetary outcomes for their clients.

In August, Forbes named Wahlberg the highest-paid actor of the year, calculating his pretax and prefee earnings at $68 million.

Williams previously told USA TODAY that when Scott's team called to request her time for the reshoot, "I said I'd be wherever they needed me, whenever they needed me. And they could have my salary, they could have my holiday, whatever they wanted. Because I appreciated so much that they were making this massive effort."