On Monday I was crowing about the effective rollout of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA messaging. The union members and leaders have been eloquent with their statements, and polls are showing that the public hears them clearly. Many of you in the comments also rightly noted the big impact that working actors sharing their residual stories on social media has had, especially juxtaposed with news like Suits being watched a billionty times through streaming. Joey King, from The Kissing Booth and The Act, is a successful young actor—she’s 24 now but has been acting since she was six. She’s been on the picket lines often and since Day 1, and she just spoke with CNN about the sense of community felt among actors:
“I think all of us really, we all want to work,” she said. “We want this deal to get worked out. We want a fair contract.”
“It’s interesting because when you go picketing, there’s such a sense of community there, which is pretty incredible,” Kind added.
While entertainment writers have now been on strike for more than 100 days and talks are not currently underway with negotiators for SAG-AFTRA, King said she remains hopeful for a resolution.
The fight, King said, is about “having the values to protect all of our members.”
“A lot of people don’t understand. It’s not just the big stars. In fact, that’s such a small portion of the people that need to be paid,” she explained. “I genuinely understand the misconception. Why would you understand what we’re asking for? All you see is like big actors on the picket line… but the truth of the matter is there’s 160,000 SAG members and a lot of them don’t even qualify for health insurance every year because of how little they get paid.”
She referenced the many members who are struggling to get by.
“Do people really think that actors have multiple jobs for fun? No, this is their passion. This is their love,” King said. “We need to protect all of our members.”
King said “a lot of people don’t realize that some of their favorite actors are some of those people that can’t make ends meet.”
She added that the acting community and crews are eager to return to sets.
“All of us want to get back to work,” King said. “We want that contract to be figured out because people need work.”
Ok, so when I covered the new polls on Monday, the focus was on how the public understands and supports what actors and writers are fighting for. Listening to the way Joey lays it out here, though, got me thinking that maybe the messaging is intended for a different audience. “I genuinely understand the misconception. Why would you understand what we’re asking for? All you see is like big actors on the picket line… but the truth of the matter is there’s 160,000 SAG members and a lot of them don’t even qualify for health insurance every year because of how little they get paid.” Now I’m wondering if the goal is to try and explain it all to the studio heads. Hear me out! Joey’s talking points sound to me like an attempt at schooling the Bob Igers (Disney) and David Zaslavs (Warner Brothers), in simple language, the concept of people who have a lot (big stars), actively advocating for people who have less (98% of the union). Now do I think the idea will penetrate? No, absolutely not. It’s a fruitless endeavor, it’s Sisyphus pushing the rock up the hill. But it still reflects well on the actors for giving it the old college try. Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, it’s off to strike we go!
Photos credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages, Instar Images and via Instagram
Regarding “multiple jobs,” I was astonished when actor Luke Cook — a fan favorite from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina — took to his TikTok to explain that acting is really his side hustle (by day he teaches yoga or pilates or something). This isn’t some background actor! Obviously everyone should have the ability to earn a living wage, but it really disturbs me in particular that there are suits trying to turn acting and writing (including journalism) into poorly-paid “hobbies”
That’s a common theme across all creative professions. I know several authors, and none of them can live solely off their writing. They either have “legit” jobs and writing is a side hustle, or they have wealthy partners. The same is true of my friend who is a dancer.
Somebody’s making money off artists, and it sure isn’t the people who do the actual creation! I hope that the writers/actors strike is successful and helps change that dynamic.
My brother went to school with Jeff Kinney, the writer of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Despite how successful his books and moves have been, he NEVER quit his day job as a web designer.
Most entertainers these days have to have multiple streams of income.
The multiple gigs isn’t exactly a new phenomenon. Harrison Ford was acting, doing carpentry work and freelance pharmacy before Star Wars hit. Michelle Phillips famously wrote in her memoir that she got dragged by a family member to see Star Wars, saw Ford and screen and exclaimed “That’s my pot dealer!”
“freelance pharmacy” I’m ded!
That freelance pharmacy really killed me too haha go Harrison! I love him.
I have to say I am excited to see how much pro-union, pro-labour enthusiasm this strike has garnered! I hope it continues when folks like teachers and nurses go on strike for fair compensation and better working conditions
I feel bad for Sydney Sweeney that she was ridiculed for saying this (that she couldn’t afford to live off Euphoria). Now we know how much of a scam streamers are, it makes perfect sense. People acted like she was some idiot living above her station for buying a home and needing to pay management / publicists etc etc.
I thought about that interview with Sydney as well. She really laid out all the expenses and everyone she needed to pay out. That even as a very successful actress she needs to side hustle.
Anyway I adore Joey King.
I have a college degree, decent job and also have two side gigs to make things work. The strike is part of a needed larger conversation.
Walking in midtown a couple of weeks ago, I saw some of the union picket in Rockefeller Center. I also some of the picketers holding up signs for the teachers union (yea!). Each union is supporting the other. And she’s correct, most of these picketers were writers, production crew, etc. They’re hurting without work. My actor-neighbor is looking for temporary office work just to pay the bills. The studios reap in billions every year. It’s time to give back to the workers who help them reap those billions. Ugh — these studios and their leadership are so greedy toxic.
I remember this conversation from last year when people refused to understand that Alice Evans ex( can’t remember his name) just couldn’t stop working. Everyone isn’t making millions of dollars a year . They’re like free lancers, almost half of what they make goes to taxes
( taxes are higher in the UK also), then all the fees the agents, managers, publicists and some are even supporting their families. A lot of the actors you see all the time are just working actors, it’s one job to the next and you have to make that money stretch until the next pay day.
Ioan Gruffudd
It’s astonishing how greedy and disgusting the evil studio people are. They are outrageously overpaid for their parasitic “work”.