Sean Astin has taken on the presidency of the SAG-AFTRA at a very perilous time for the actors union, and for Hollywood. There’s the specter of human actors being changed by synthetic intelligence. The ongoing upheavals of streaming. Studio consolidation and realignment.
Nearly three years in the past, the actors launched a four-month strike, securing some protections and better wages. And on Monday, negotiations on a brand new three-year contract with studio and streamers are already starting once more.
So what actor would need this position?
“In my imagination, growing up, I would want to have been in a place of consequence,” he informed The Associated Press in an interview in his workplace on the guild’s Los Angeles headquarters. “And so to have the opportunity to be in a role, leading a union of 160,000 people at this moment of consequence when there’s turmoil, when there’s fear and uncertainty and danger, this is exactly where I want to be.”
Astin, an elected board member throughout the strike who left his mark as a fiery rally speaker, gained the presidency in September, changing the outgoing Fran Drescher.
As an actor, the now-54-year-old is named the chief of a scrappy band of children in 1985’s “The Goonies,” an aspiring soccer participant with endless grit in 1993’s “Rudy,” and Samwise Gamgee, Frodo Baggins’ steadfast bestie within the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
He’s a SAG lifer, turning into a member as a younger boy in 1981. His mom, Oscar winner Patty Duke, who died in 2016, was president of the guild from 1985 to 1988, earlier than it added the -AFTRA in a 2012 merger.
His father, John Astin, now 95, is greatest recognized for taking part in Gomez on “The Addams Family.” His brother Mackenzie Astin is a toddler star turned journeyman actor who just lately had a three-episode arc on “The Pitt.”
Sean Astin mentioned he hopes to get actors like his brother, who rely closely on small ongoing funds for visitor roles, to have streaming residuals pay in addition to they do for broadcast TV.
“I can’t wait to be at a Thanksgiving or a Christmas with him and nudge him and say, ‘Hey, how’s your residuals doing?’” he mentioned.
Astin mentioned he has motive to consider the brand new talks will not begin with actors and their employers at one another’s throats.
“They came in last time provoking the fight,” he mentioned, referring to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. “They wanted the strike. No question in my mind. I was in those rooms every single day. They’re sending much different signals now. They’re sending signals of wanting stability, of wanting to work as partners again.”
The AMPTP mentioned in a press release to the AP that the group representing studios and streamers regarded “forward to working collaboratively with our partners at SAG-AFTRA as we commence formal bargaining.”
“By taking the time to thoughtfully engage on the challenges confronting our industry, we are optimistic that, together, we can reach a fair deal that reflects our shared commitment to supporting our industry’s talented performers and promoting long-term stability,” the assertion mentioned.
Astin mentioned the guild will not yield any of the bottom it gained in 2023, whether or not it’s wage will increase or requiring knowledgeable consent for using actors’ likenesses by way of AI. and which means they’ll’t disarm prematurely — putting is just not out of the query, regardless of the lingering pains from final time.
“There’s only one real tool available to a labor union in a negotiation, and that’s saying no,” Astin mentioned. “We reserve the right to say no again if we need to.”
On March 1, the guild will maintain the world’s most glamorous union assembly, the newly renamed Actor Awards, the place high-profile members like Leonardo DiCaprio and Emma Stone are nominated. But the overwhelming majority of appearing members do not even make the roughly $27,000 a yr required to qualify for guild medical health insurance. And Astin represents the guild’s full membership — together with online game actors, puppeteers, broadcast journalists and TV announcers. He’s spent a lot of his time since his election — and lots earlier than that — studying the precise issues of, for instance, stunt drivers or actors who reside in Minnesota or New Mexico.
“I will say to everybody, I’m gonna fight as hard for you as anybody has ever fought for you, for your issue,” he mentioned. “People say, ‘You can’t fight for everybody equally.’ I say, ‘Yes, I can.’”
A speech Samwise offers in “The Two Towers” — “There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for” — turned an Astin rallying cry throughout the strike.
He mentioned that he may draw from his different characters for traits he should embody now.
“The qualities that make Rudy special — determination, grit, inspiration, aspiration — whatever is a part of that thing that makes him, makes his story touch the lives of so many people, is the part of myself that I want to pour into this job on behalf of my members,” he mentioned.
And then there’s Mikey from “The Goonies.”
“If you think of ‘The Goonies,’ ‘The Goonies’ is about saving their home,” he mentioned. “It’s fun, there’s a pirate ship, but it’s about a group of friends who don’t want to be overtaken by industrialists. Maybe that’s the most important one.”
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