It's easy to think all those in Hollywood are rich: 'The Boys' star on joining writers' strike

Laz Alonso recalled his days as an aspiring actor trying to break into the industry with the preconceived notion that all actors were rich.

"It's very easy to think all the Hollywood stars or anybody in Hollywood is rich and swimming in money in a swimming pool. That's just not the case," Alonso said as he marched in solidarity with the striking Writer's Guild of America (WGA) during a picket outside the Amazon Studios lot.

While Alonso is now well-known for his role as Mother's Milk on Prime Video's The Boys, he began his career with many smaller roles on lower budget projects. "It's a very blue-collar industry. It takes a very, very long time for most people to be considered working consistently," he said.

'Middle class' industry

Jackie Tohn, known for her role as Melanie "MelRose" Rosen on the Netflix series GLOW, said people outside of the industry need to understand the reality that most actors do not get paid for about 98% of the work they put into their careers. We go on auditions all the time, and as an actor, when I get paid is for when I get a job," Tohn said. "But most of the time, I don't get a job.”

Tohn said that when she finally does get paid after getting a new role, the money immediately goes toward bills and essential living expenses like gas, her mortgage and groceries. Tohn believes only the highest echelon of actors are working all the time. Eric Kripke, creator of Supernatural on The CW and showrunner for The Boys, said there is a very small percentage of people who make "ridiculous money."

"The vast majority of the entertainment industry is middle class," he said. "With the exception of a handful of actors, every actor I know, needs to get jobs to cover their rent and take care of their families." At the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny premiere in London, Harrison Ford told Reuters he is ready to support his fellow SAG members if a strike is authorized. "I believe in unions. I believe in labour. I believe in representation, all of those things. If my union votes to go out, I'll go out," he said.

Actors join writers in strike

Hollywood's actors union voted to authorize a strike in early June, and if contract talks failed between chief negotiators and studios by the Friday contract deadline -- which was yesterday -- they would join the WGA on the picket lines to demand new contracts from film and television studios.

A-listers including Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep, in a letter to union leadership earlier this week, said they were ready to walk off the job if negotiators cannot reach a "transformative deal" on higher base pay and safeguards around use of artificial intelligence (AI). "If you are not able to get all the way there, we ask that you use the power given to you by us, the membership, and join the WGA on the picket lines," the letter reads. "For our union and its future, this is our moment."

Some actors have spoken publicly of their support of a walkout. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, star of the new "Indiana Jones" movie, noted that she was already on strike as a member of the WGA. "I'm on the edge of my seat hoping that SAG will follow suit and stand up in support of the writers, and just really hope we can get this sorted," Waller-Bridge said in an interview with Reuters at an "Indiana Jones" premiere in London.

The SAG-AFTRA actors union said 97.91% of ballots cast supported strike authorization. Nearly 65,000 members, or about 48% of those eligible, voted on the measure. The letter came after union negotiators issued a video saying their talks had been "extremely productive," a possible sign that a deal was within reach. A strike by SAG-AFTRA, which represents 160,000 actors, would turn up the heat on Hollywood studios already grappling with a nearly two-month work stoppage by the Writers Guild of America (WGA).

The walkout by 11,500 writers has shut down a wide swath of TV production and delayed the filming of movies including Marvel's Thunderbolts and Blade. Any ongoing filming would have to halt if actors also strike.

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