Key Highlights
- Before getting the top guild gig, Astin previously served on the SAG-AFTRA board and helping shepherd the 160,000-person membership through a historically long strike that resulted from an extremely contentious round of contract talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in 2023.
- Related Stories News Inside Equity & Pact's Artificial Intelligence Negotiation: UK Union Demands Compensation Clause But Pact Says Its Offer Gives Actors "More Control Over Their Data & Performance Than Counterparts In Other Countries" News Kristen Bell To Host SAG-AFTRA's Actor Awards For Third Time Now, having been elected to succeed former SAG-AFTRA leader Fran Drescher in September, he takes on the tall order (along with National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and the guild’s negotiating committee) of finding a path toward a new TV/Theatrical Contract during an increasingly tumultuous moment in the U. S.
- film and television industry.
- Astin ran on a campaign that promised to continue addressing several of the same issues that were the talk of the town three years ago, like AI protections and streaming residuals, while also vowing to turn his attention to health and pension plan reform, workplace safety and other concerns from members who he feels often get left behind in negotiations.
- Watch on Deadline Astin sets the stage for 2026 talks in the interview below, where he discusses some of those priorities and makes clear his expectations for the AMPTP, led by new president and former SAG National Director Greg Hessinger.
