The SAG-AFTRA Strike

“For a lot of people, this is their full-time job. This is their career. And to have it leaked that one of the studio executives said,‘We’re going to make them strike until they start losing their housing,’…I think it’s just absolutely mindblowing,” said sophomore actress Kathleen Benson ’26.

Benson stars as the lead actress in Teenage Vampire 3, shot by prominent filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. While the movie was positioned to debut this fall, a turbulent summer of discontent that rocked Hollywood changed these plans.

Since July 14th, for the first time in 63 years, the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) have been on strike together to advocate for better pay and working conditions. Former SAG president Ronald Reagan, in an attempt to demand fair compensation, led the last double strike in 1960. When major media companies broke off ongoing labor negotiations this summer, writers and actors united against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

“[The double strike] hasn’t happened in decades,” said sophomore Saara Chaudry ’26, four-time Canadian Screen Award winner and ACTRA Award winner. “So to navigate it now is something we’re all adjusting to, and I think it’s just a group effort. You know, we lean on each other for support and make do with what we can right now.”

Kathleen Benson was interning at Heyday Films in Los Angeles this past summer, hoping to attend auditions on the side. “There was one point when I was working there and there were only like five things in the entire city being shot. Five new projects, which is unheard of. Normally, there’s hundreds going on all the time.”

Instead, Benson took to the picket line in solidarity with fellow creatives. Organizers used fun themes such as Disney princesses or Bridgerton characters to boost morale each day. “For people who are striking every single day for months on end, that’s super monotonous and really tiring work, especially in the middle of the summer,” Benson explained. “So having themes, having music—all of that stuff really helped to keep the energy going.”

She continued, “It almost felt like a block party … But I think that if we’re going to be in this miserable position of getting shit pay, and the studios just absolutely being overrun with greed…I think the spirit I felt being there was like, ‘This is a very shitty situation, but we’re going to make the best of it’ …Because ultimately, we know that [the studios] need us. We are the heart of this industry.”

Now, Benson is uncertain about the timeline for her film release. Because Teenage Vampire 3 is an independent film, promotion is still allowed. She explained that, in addition to a theatrical premiere in a chain of Alamo Drafthouses across South Texas, the film will be sold to distributors such as Hulu and Peacock. Yet once these companies own her film, because they are members of AMPTP, promotions will violate strike guidelines. Benson hopes the release date will be pushed back until the strike ends.

“Especially for indie movies like mine that have independent financing, we want to be able to promote it. Especially if it’s releasing [video-on-demand], [promotions are] the way that we get people to watch it,” she explained. “A lot of these decisions aren’t up to me, but it would be very sad to not be able to promote it.”

“It’s about what’s fair and what’s equal,” Chaudry echoed. “For years, performers have been struggling to put food on the table for their families. And when employers have been making billions of revenue off of the work and the labor of SAG-AFTRA members, it’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that they haven’t been able to share in that success,” she noted.

Chaudry is best recognized for her starring roles in The Breadwinner (2018), executively produced by Angelina Jolie, and The Muppets Mayhem (2023). The latter premiered during the WGA strike. The actors completed their press tour, but when SAG-AFTRA began striking as well, it barred them from conducting further interviews.

“I definitely have to think twice about what I’m posting on social media. If I’m thinking about posting a summer photo dump, I’m making sure, ‘Oh, let me make sure I’m not posting any pictures from the show or where I air,’ if there’s anything that could be seen as promotion. Just to make sure I’m 100% standing in solidarity with other SAG-AFTRA members and with SAG-AFTRA in general,” she said.

Chaudry is a member of ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) as well as SAG-AFTRA. As a dual cardholder, she has advocated for greater awareness about the strike among fellow Canadians. “It’s definitely a balance for sure, but it’s because I do belong to both ACTRA and SAG-AFTRA. It’s interesting to see how conversations being held on this side of the border are different in comparison to what’s going on down south,” Chaudry said, in regard to the lack of protests occurring in Canada.

As a first-year student, her acting and promotion was often a full-time job, demanding frequent flights to New York and Los Angeles. Yet her current year looks much different. “As a student, it’s almost a blessing in disguise, because I have some time to really focus on my academics right now… I think I’m lucky to be one of the SAG-AFTRA members that has a backup right now or has something else that they can be putting their energy into, whereas a lot of other people are struggling,” she noted.

Anthony Houhoulis, who is currently obtaining his master’s degree in museology and art forgery prevention, is an independent filmmaker who writes and directs short films. He made his theatrical directorial debut with the short film 128 Years (2019), which premiered at the Downtown Independent Cinema in Los Angeles. After a limited theatrical release, the film became available for worldwide streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Although Houhoulis’s independent projects are exempt from the strike, union and non-union actors still constantly fear public backlash. He filmed the first season of his television series this summer using non-union actors. “It’s affecting everyone. The SAG [actors] obviously it’s affecting, but even the non-union actors,” he explained, referencing the actors in his film. “Even though they technically get a pass, they don’t want to engage in ‘scabby’ behavior and then not be able to get in [to the SAG-AFTRA union] once the strike is over,” he said.

Houhoulis cannot take his television series to festivals in search of a buyer. Major streamer studios who might buy independent projects all belong to AMPTP, making distribution and promotion impossible. “You can make your movie as an indie. Good luck getting it seen anywhere because [you’re not allowed] to put it on [streaming services]. Because effectively, what good is the strike if you’re just going to go around it?”

Houhoulis names piracy as the original sin that created the streaming economy, which pays creatives very little in residuals and is another factor that led to the strike. “The general public, they want the movies for free, and they also want the creatives to be paid a fair sum. If you’re not paying a fair price for the movie, it isn’t enough money to pay the creators. Everyone can blame the studio until they’re blue in the face. If we don’t have a viable business model, we don’t have a way to pay creators. This comes down to what’s the best way to coax people away from piracy. Is it streaming? Is it just shoving commercials down their throat hoping enough watch it?”

Sophomore Wesley Wang ’26, another filmmaker, experienced a career breakthrough during the strike. He wrote and directed the short film Nothing, Except Everything (2023), produced by Scott Aharoni and starring renowned actors David Mazouz (Gotham) and Lily Chee (Daredevil). His film premiered and won a Grand Jury Prize at the Oscar-qualifying Indy Shorts International Film Festival.

Strike guidelines did not prohibit Mazouz and Chee from attending the film festival or posting on social media about the film, yet they still declined to do either. Wang explained, “Their agents were like, ‘[the strike is] still more of a social thing at this point rather than legal.’ [The actors] want to show that they’re supporting the strike.”

The success of Nothing, Except Everything gained attention from publications such as Variety and MovieMaker. This newfound credibility allowed Wang to write and direct his upcoming horror short film you are seen., which follows influencers on a Hamptons trip who are terrorized by a stalker. While it is an independent film, he used non-union actors to be safe.

On September 29th, Nothing, Except Everything premiered on YouTube. Mazouz and Chee promoted the release on social media, noting that the film is not a struck project and stating their support for the strike. Regarding the strike, Wang reflected, “It’s tough. For a lot of people I know personally. It’s just unfortunate. I don’t know what to say.”

While the strike has heavily impacted student filmmakers and actors, they remain committed to their craft. There is a feeling of optimism that persists, reminding everyone that the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes have the potential to rewrite Hollywood history. Despite difficulties, actors and writers are confident that history will side with labor.

Author’s Note: As of September 26th, the WGA strike has since ended.

Kya Brooks ’25 (kyabrooks@college.harvard.edu) is a recently converted cinephile.