Arden Cho Turned Down The Teen Wolf Movie After Being Offered Less Than Half The Salary Of Her Other Co-Stars

In September, as news of an upcoming "Teen Wolf" movie broke, fans of the six-season MTV series were eager to find out which members of Beacon Hills' wolf pack would be headed to Paramount+ for a feature-length sequel. When the cast list came out, a couple key names were absent, including actress Arden Cho.

While rumors about Cho's reasons for declining to participate in the film have been circulating for months, the actress finally confirmed them in an interview with The Cut this week. When interviewers asked Cho about a Deadline story claiming the actor was offered half of her costars' salaries to reprise her role, she answered, "I think I was actually offered even less." That's right: the actress reports that she would have made an insulting 50% less (at most) than some of her castmates. Cho points out that neither she nor her team leaked the pay information, and that she probably wouldn't have shared the details if they hadn't been made public.

Korean-American Cho is upfront about all-too-common pay disparities that impact actors of color, saying, "I could probably, off the top of my head, think of over ten Asian-American actors I know who were paid significantly less than their counterparts." Though few actors speak up about pay disparities in the workplace, in part due to fears of retaliation or being labeled "difficult," Hollywood certainly has a long history of pay inequity. Despite her choice, the actor is clear about not begrudging anyone who does take a lower paycheck, saying that in some instances, performers "don't have a choice to say 'no'" because they might simply need the money to make ends meet.

Although Cho declined to share information as to who told her about the massive pay disparity between herself and her co-stars, she did make sure to share her appreciation for "artists who are a little bit more transparent because they realize that we're all important." While series stars Tyler Hoechlin, Tyler Posey, Holland Roden, Crystal Reed, and other major castmates will be returning for the upcoming film, Cho's co-star Dylan O'Brien also opted to sit the film out. The actor told Variety that he was satisfied with his character's ending in the series and that the part he played in the show is still "extremely dear" to him.

Cho played new student Kira beginning in the show's third season and exited ahead of its last. In the monster-filled series, her character was a Thunder Kitsune, a superpowered, fox-like figure from Japanese folklore. In the end, she said her decision to opt-out of the film was made with one purpose in mind: "I wasn't saying 'no' necessarily for me or because I was angry," she told The Cut. "I was saying 'no' because I hope that there will be more equality in the future."