Threat of Hollywood Actors Strike Is ‘Very Disturbing,’ Demands Are Unrealistic, Disney CEO Says

Hollywood actors are making unrealistic demands on movie studios in their threat to strike just as the industry gets its footing back after nearly two years of pandemic lockdowns, Disney CEO Bob Iger said Thursday.

In a wide-ranging interview with CNBC, Iger said an actors' strike would disrupt rank-and-file workers as well as companies that serve the industry.

Iger said the studios negotiated "a very good deal with the directors guild that reflects the value that the directors contributed to this great business." He added that the studios want the same for writers and actors.

The SAG-AFTRA union, which represents 160,000 movie and television actors, announced early Thursday that it unanimously voted to strike after contract talks broke down with Hollywood studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The union's three-year contract expired at 11:59 p.m. last night.

The actors' guild is making similar demands to the Writer's Guild of America, which has been on strike for two and a half months, including new formulas for residuals and limits to the use of artificial intelligence.

Iger said this was the worst possible time for another industry-wide disruption given its ongoing recovery from studio and movie theater lockdowns during the pandemic.

"It's very disturbing to me," Iger said, adding that he respected the union's fight for its members. "There's a level of expectation that they have that is just not realistic, and they are adding to a set of challenges that this business is already facing. That is quite frankly, very disruptive."

If SAG-AFTRA strikes it would be the first dual work stoppage in 63 years, according to Reuters.

In a statement released last night, the AMPTP said it was "deeply disappointed" that the union was walking away from negotiations and dismissing its offered benefits. The AMPTP represents a number of major studios including Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon.