The actress portrayed a young Queen Elizabeth in the Netflix drama The Crown. The 38-year-old appeared opposite Matt, 40, who played the Duke of Edinburgh.
The small screen favourite was “very upset” after finding out the latter had earned more than her.
However, Claire admitted it had subsequently had an “amazing impact”.
In 2018 producers revealed the star – who won two Emmys and a Golden Globe for the drama – had earned less than Matt.
She first heard about the pay gap when it made national headlines and has now addressed the news.
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“I wasn’t shocked,” she shared in a new interview today. “I was very upset.
“Not like, boohoo, crying upset. I was very upset.”
Claire said she had not “allowed” herself to get angry about the row at the time.
She continued in the Guardian’s Saturday magazine: “I really love my industry, and I think it is made up of lots of honourable, incredibly talented, brilliant, imaginative, amazing people.
“Sometimes, you see something, you hear something, you notice something, or something happens to you, and you just go, ‘Oh God, what am I doing? Why am I doing it? Should I be part of this?’
“I found it really heart-breaking.”
The Crown controversy came shortly after US actress Michelle Williams made headlines when it was disclosed that actor Mark Wahlberg earned 1.5 million dollars (£1.1 million) to refilm portions of All The Money In The World to erase actor Kevin Spacey, while she reportedly received less than 1,000 dollars (£728).
The latter then announced that he was donating the money to Time’s Up – an initiative to help those who have suffered sexual assault, harassment or abuse in the workplace.
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However, finding herself in the middle of the furore, Claire said she did not want to be the spokesperson for it.
She added: “I just think everybody wanted me to behave in a certain way, in response to it. And I didn’t.
“… I don’t think I should be honest about certain things about it, because I don’t think it would be helpful. It would add more fuel to it.”
At the time, Left Bank Pictures publicly apologised to both Claire and Matt, and took responsibility for setting the salaries before pledging to do better.
Claire, who said the pay row has subsequently had an “amazing impact” because “you can’t lie now”, has since reprised her role in the fifth series of the show.
She appeared during a flashback episode showing the late Queen’s visit to Clydebank in 1953 to launch the Royal Yacht Britannia.
The Crown saw her portray the Queen in the first two series of the Netflix show, before Olivia Colman took over for series three and four.
Imelda Staunton is meanwhile the star of series five and six.
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