Bryan Cranston addressed Disney chief Bob Iger during an impassioned strike speech in New York on Tuesday.
The In Satan’s shoes star — speaking at the SAG-AFTRA “Shake the Town for a Fair Contract” Rally — declared: “We have a message for Mr. Iger: I know, sir, that you see things through a different prism. We don’t expect you to know who we are. But we ask you for it i hear us and beyond I’m listening for us when we tell you that our jobs are not going to be taken away and given to robots. We will not allow you to take away our right to work and earn decently. And lastly, most importantly, we will not allow you to rob us of our dignity!”
Cranston was one of several high-profile performers to take the stage at the rally, where the union is demanding studios give actors a share of streaming revenue and guarantee protections against the use of AI, among other demands. While Iger has recently become a major target for actors and writers embarking on their first joint outing in decades following his recent comments in which he called strikers “unrealistic” while visiting a billionaire retreat.
Ellen star Joely Fisher told the crowd: “I’m on the negotiating committee. We spent 35 days against these bastards,” she said. “The last time the writers and actors went on strike was in 1960 and we got a little thing called residuals and a health plan and a pension plan, so I’m expecting big fucking things from that point on. We do not take this lightly. We are on the right side of history. hey [studio negotiators], we’re ready to rumble. You won’t bleed us dry! Let us know when you come to your senses. For a hot guild summer.”
In another animated speech, Inheritance actor Ariane Moayed said: “It’s like these people haven’t seen knocking Inheritance! — it’s about you. The most important thing we can do right now as a unit, as a group, is to stay together. … United we will defeat them.”
While The good fight star Christine Baranski stated, “If this industry can generate millions, hundreds of millions in compensation for those at the top, it can afford to share the wealth. We will not live under corporate feudalism. It’s time to make things right. Our contribution will not be underestimated and we will not be replaced.”
Avatar actor Stephen Lang talks about being moved by SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher’s speeches and reasons for leaving. “Two qualities stood out quite vividly: First, a moral and well-earned sense of righteous indignation at the deliberately dumb, disrespectful, uncaring and irresponsible attitude of those who sat down at the negotiating table,” he said. “Shame on you,” she said. Shame, really. The other quality was her deep sense of sadness that it had come to this. So many lives will be damaged, so many careers will be stalled or broken; families already working hard to make ends meet, enduring further damage and degradation… All of them caught in the maelstrom of inequality fueled by organized corporate greed… we are the voice of reason for civilization at this point.”
The actors’ strike enters its second week, with 160,000 members on strike. Coupled with the two-month-long writers’ strike, Hollywood productions were effectively shut down, resulting in many millions in lost revenue.