TV and film stars join first day of Sag-Aftra strike

Performers take to the streets in New York and Hollywood to demand better pay and protections

Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis and other top film and TV actors joined picket lines alongside screenwriters on Friday, marking the first full day of a walkout that has become Hollywood’s biggest labour fight in decades.

Sudeikis was among the picketers outside NBC in New York, The Associated Press reported, while Lord of the Rings star Sean Astin joined chanting protesters outside Netflix's offices in Hollywood.

Also present at Netflix were Titanic and Unforgiven actor Frances Fisher and The Nanny star Fran Drescher, who is president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or Sag-Aftra.

The actors’ arrival energised the picket lines outside Netflix, where music blared and pavements were packed with demonstrators.

Elsewhere, Once Upon a Time actor Gennifer Goodwin was among the protesters outside Paramount Pictures.

“We're in this for the long haul, but this is a historic moment,” Vera Cherny, who has had roles in The Americans and For All Mankind, told AFP at the strike.

“It is time for us to lock down the contracts that are going to serve generations of actors to come. Just like they did in 1960.”

The walkout is the first two-prong strike by actors and screenwriters in more than six decades. The dispute immediately shut down production across the entertainment industry after talks for a new contract with studios and streaming services broke down.

In recent weeks, many actors made a show of solidarity with the 11,500 writers, who walked out in May.

Now 65,000 members of the actors' union have formally joined them on strike.

The two guilds have similar issues with studios and streaming services.

They are concerned about contracts keeping up with inflation and about residual payments, which compensate creators and actors for use of their material beyond the original airing, such as in reruns or on streaming services.

The unions also want to put up guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence mimicking their work on film and television.

“We are being victimised by a very greedy entity,” Drescher said on Thursday.

“I am shocked by the way the people that we have been in business with are treating us. I cannot believe it, quite frankly, how far apart we are on so many things.

“How they plead poverty, that they’re losing money left and right when giving hundreds of millions of dollars to their CEOs.”

No talks are planned, and no end is in sight for the work stoppage.

It is the first time both guilds have walked off sets since 1960, when then-actor Ronald Reagan was Sag’s leader.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents employers including Disney, Netflix, Amazon and others, has lamented the walkout, saying it will hurt thousands of workers in industries that support film and television production.

The actors' strike will affect more than filming: stars will no longer be allowed to promote their work through red carpet premieres or personal appearances, and they cannot campaign for Emmy awards or take part in auditions or rehearsals.

While international shoots technically can continue, the stoppage among US-based writers and performers is likely to have a drag on those, too.