Michelle Williams felt 'paralysed' after finding out about pay gap with Mark Wahlberg

Actor Michelle Williams has opened up about being paid significantly less than her "All the Money in the World" co-star Mark Wahlberg for the film's reshoots.

The 38-year-old actor, who joined Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and other members of the Democratic Women's Caucus to mark Equal Pay Day on Tuesday, credited Jessica Chastain for spreading awareness about her case.

Williams said she was "paralysed in feelings of futility" when she learned that Walhberg was paid USD 1.5 million compared to her paycheck of less than USD 1,000 for reshoots after Kevin Spacey's firing from the project, according to Entertainment Weekly.

"Guess what, no one cared. This came as no surprise to me, it simply reinforced my life-learned belief that equality is not an inalienable right and that women would always be working just as hard for less money while shouldering more responsibility at home," she said.

Williams said Chastain asked for permission to share her case with her followers on Twitter as the actor's "audience was much wider than mine".

"She wasn't afraid to pick up a megaphone and be heard. Heard she was, there was an uproar and a public shaming within my industry that resulted in a USD 2 million donation to the Time's Up Defense Fund," she added.

The actor said things have changed so much for her since the incident.

"I could tell my workplace was shifting. Rather than being grasped too tightly or hugged for too long as a morning greeting, my hand was shaken and I was looked squarely in the eye and I was welcomed to my Monday morning," Williams said.

"On the job I just completed two weeks ago, I have to tell you, I was paid equally with my male co-star," she added.