He is the danger — when it comes to sending messages to Disney CEO Bob Iger, that is. Breaking Bad and Malcolm in the Middle star Bryan Cranston gave an impassioned speech at a SAG-AFTRA rally in support of the ongoing strike for better wages and protection in the streaming and AI era.
“We’ve got a message for Mr. Iger. I know, sir, that you look [at] things through a different lens. We don’t expect you to understand who we are, but we ask you to hear us, and beyond that to listen to us, when we tell you we will not be having our jobs taken away and given to robots.”
It gets better: “We will not have you take away our right to work and earn a decent living. And lastly, and most importantly, we will not allow you to take away our dignity.”
At the end of his rallying cry, he asked for unity within the union.
“We are union, through and through, all the way to the end,” Cranston said. “Stay together. We will win this fight.”
Cranston wasn’t the only one who took to the podium to rally the troops. Other speakers included Steve Buscemi, Stephen Lang, Tituss Burgess, and Christian Slater. The event was called “SAG-AFTRA – Rock the City For A Fair Contract.”
Here’s another look:
The fact that Bob Iger gets about $27 million a year but can’t seem to find any more money to pay actors and writers has been a real point of contention for the strikers. In a recent interview at a getaway for billionaires in Idaho, Iger said the strike was “very disturbing” and that the wants were “not realistic.”
“I respect their right and their desire to get as much as they possibly can in compensation for their people. But you also have to be realistic about the business environment and what this business can deliver. It is and has been a great business for all of these people and it will continue to be even through disruptive times. But, being realistic is imperative here.”
In a live stream interview with Senator Bernie Sanders, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher called those comments “terribly repugnant and out of touch, positively tone-deaf.”
“There he is, sitting in his designer clothes and just got on his private jet at the billionaire’s camp, telling us we’re unrealistic when he’s making $78,000 a day. How do you deal with someone like that who’s so tone-deaf?”
The strike, which started on July 14 for actors, is ongoing.