LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 鈥淭ed Lasso鈥 star Jason Sudeikis, Rosario Dawson and other top movie and TV actors joined picket lines alongside screenwriters Friday on the first full day of a walkout that has become Hollywood鈥檚 biggest labor fight in decades.
A day after the dispute across the entertainment industry, Sudeikis was among the picketers outside NBC in New York pressing for progress following the breakdown of contract talks with studios and streaming services. Dawson, star of the film 鈥淩ent鈥 and the 鈥淪tar Wars鈥 TV series 鈥淎hsoka,鈥 joined picketers outside Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California.
鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥 star Sean Astin marched with chanting protesters outside Netflix's offices in Hollywood. Also present at Netflix were 鈥淭itanic鈥 and 鈥淯nforgiven鈥 actor Frances Fisher and 鈥淭he Nanny鈥 star Fran Drescher, who is president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
The actors鈥 arrival energized the picket lines outside Netflix, where music blared and the sidewalks were packed with demonstrators.
Elsewhere, "Once Upon a Time鈥 actor Ginnifer Goodwin stood with protesters at Paramount Pictures.
The famous faces of and winners will likely be seen with some regularity on picket lines in New York and Los Angeles, adding star power to the demonstrations outside studios and corporate offices.
The walkout is the first double-barreled strike by actors and in more than six decades.
In recent weeks, many actors made a show of solidarity with the 11,500 writers, who walked out in May. On Thursday, 65,000 members of the actors' union formally .
The two guilds have similar issues with studios and streaming services. They are concerned about contracts keeping up with inflation and about , which compensate creators and actors for use of their material beyond the original airing, such as in reruns or on streaming services. The unions also want to put up guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence mimicking their work on film and television.
Many on the picket lines took aim at Disney chief executive Bob Iger, who said Wednesday that the damage the strikes will do to the entertainment economy is 鈥渁 shame.鈥
鈥淚 think that when Bob Iger talks about what a shame it is, he needs to remember that in 1980, CEOs like him made 30 times what their lowest worker was making,鈥 actor Sean Gunn, who starred in 鈥淕uardians of the Galaxy,鈥 said outside Netflix.
Now Iger "makes 400 times what his lowest worker is. And I think that鈥檚 a shame, Bob. And maybe you should take a look in the mirror and ask yourself, 鈥榃hy is that?鈥欌
No talks are planned, and no end is in sight for the work stoppage. It is the first time both guilds have walked off sets since 1960, when then-actor Ronald Reagan was SAG鈥檚 leader.
鈥淲hat we won in 1960 was our health and pension plans and the existence of residuals. That was the most important strike in LA union history, and now we鈥檙e on strike together again, and honestly, this strike is even bigger,鈥 Adam Conover, host of the TV series 鈥淎dam Ruins Everything鈥 and member of the Writers Guild negotiating committee, said outside Netflix. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to win. If you are gaining momentum like we are, 70-odd days into a strike, you are going to win.鈥
Conover was one of many picketers, including Sudeikis, who are members of both unions.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents employers including Disney, Netflix, Amazon and others, has lamented the walkout, saying it will hurt thousands of workers in industries that support film and television production.
The actors' strike will affect more than filming. Stars will no longer be allowed to promote their work through red carpet premieres or personal appearances. They cannot campaign for Emmy awards or take part in auditions or rehearsals.
The strike triggered cancellations of red carpet events scheduled for next week for 鈥淪pecial Ops: Lioness,鈥 starring Zoe Salda帽a and Nicole Kidman, and Christopher Nolan鈥檚 鈥淥ppenheimer.鈥
A 鈥淗aunted Mansion鈥 premiere event at Disneyland on Saturday was set to go on as planned, but with no actors in attendance to promote the film.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said it was clear that the entertainment industry 鈥渋s at a historic inflection point.鈥 She urged all parties to work around the clock until an agreement is reached.
鈥淭his affects all of us and is essential to our overall economy,鈥 Bass said in a statement.
The writers鈥 strike had already stopped much of television production, and the actors joining them immediately led to a shooting shutdown for many major films, including 鈥淒eadpool 3,鈥 鈥淕ladiator 2鈥 and the eighth installment of Tom Cruise鈥檚 鈥淢ission Impossible鈥 series. All are scheduled for release next year.
The writers' strike also shut down late-night talk shows and 鈥淪aturday Night Live,鈥 as well as several scripted shows that have either had their writers鈥 rooms , including 鈥淪tranger Things鈥 on Netflix, 鈥淗acks鈥 on Max and 鈥淔amily Guy鈥 on Fox. Many more are sure to follow them now that performers also have been pulled.
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This story has been corrected to fix the misspelling of Jason Sudeikis' last name and Ginnifer Goodwin's first name.
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Associated Press Writer Krysta Fauria contributed.
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For more on the Hollywood strikes, visit
