Thursday 31 / July / 2025
Los Angeles: A key Hollywood actors' union announced it would go on strike on Thursday.
The deadline for Hollywood actors to reach a deal with major film and television studios had passed earlier in the day.
The union leadership voted for the work stoppage, hours after their contract expired and talks broke off with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television producers.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, executive director of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), said at a news conference that "A strike is an instrument of last resort."
He added that they voted unanimously for a strike to begin at midnight Thursday (0700 GMT Friday).
Soon after the strike was announced, picketing screenwriters went on to chanting "Pay your Actors!," outside Netflix's Hollywood offices.
Actors' union joins writers on strike
This is the first industry-wide shutdown in 63 years, with film and television production said to grind to a halt.
In May, more than 11,000 film and television writers went on strike that disrupted production on a slate of big-budget movies.
SAG-AFTRA's walkout leads to a "double strike" not seen in Hollywood since 1960.
SAG-AFTRA members appeared to be taking the strike seriously as stars of the "Oppenheimer" movie left the London premiere on Thursday hours before the union officially called the strike.
What to know about the negotiations
On Wednesday, talks took place with mediators in a last-ditch effort to avoid a second industry strike.
Hollywood's largest union had already said it would strike if negotiations did not result in a deal by midnight in Los Angeles (0700 Thursday GMT/UTC).
"After more than four weeks of bargaining, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) ... remains unwilling to offer a fair deal on the key issues that are essential to SAG-AFTRA members," the Screen Actors Guild said in a statement.
Meanwhile, AMPTP said it was disappointed by the failure to reach a deal.
"This is the Union's choice, not ours. In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors' digital likenesses, and more," the AMPTP said in a statement.
A-list stars, including Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep, have voiced their support for the industrial action.
The strike will mean that stars will not be able to promote new releases or attend industry events such as Comic-Con, which is set to be held next week.
The union represents roughly 160,000 actors and television and radio presenters as well as other media professionals.
What are SAG-AFTRA's demands?
The union was demanding higher compensation from streaming services as well as higher pay to counteract inflation.
In addition to salaries when working, actors earn "residuals" every time a production they star in is aired on a network or cable.
However, streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ do not disclose viewing figures and pay actors the same flat rate regardless of viewership.
SAG-AFTRA is also demanding the implementation of safeguards around the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Actors want assurances that their digital images will not be used without their permission.
