Gillian Anderson: Equal pay is still an issue

Gillian Anderson believes the gender pay gap is still a big problem.

The actress is best known for her role as Agent Dana Scully in The X Files TV series, which was turned into a movie in 1998, with second spin-off I Want to Believe following in 2008.

Throughout the run of the TV show Gillian was paid less than her co-star David Duchovny and their wages only became equal in the second movie.

“Yes, it is still a problem. In a very, very big way, including something recent and unconscionable, which I really can’t talk about but yes, it is still alive and well," she sighed to The Big Issue magazine on the topic of gender inequality.

"There was a period of time in the 1990s when it was appropriate to talk about it, and there was a period of time in the 2000s when people still wanted to talk about it. Most of my reaction was, ‘Yes that happened but that was then, this is now.' But the fact is, it’s not just then – it is also happening now.”

It hasn't gone unnoticed by the rest of Hollywood either; at this year's Oscars, Patricia Arquette addressed the problem when she stepped up to collect her best supporting actress Academy Award for Boyhood.

With a TV reboot of The X Files planned for next year, it could very well be that Gillian is referencing payment negotiations for the new project.

Since appearing in the supernatural show, fans can't help but approach the 46-year-old with their own tales.

“It’s the story of my life!” she laughed. “Just the other day someone who had read a science fiction book I have co-written wanted to talk to me about how what happened in the book had actually happened to him. So yes, people want to bend my ear every once in a while.”