Cranston was one of several well-known performers taking the stage at the rally, where the union is pushing studios to give actors a piece of streaming subscription revenue and establish guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence, among other demands. While Iger has recently become a major target for actors and writers embarking on their first joint walkout in decades after his recent comments calling the strikers “not realistic” while attending a billionaires’ retreat.

Ellen star Joely Fisher told the crowd, “I’m on the negotiating committee. We spent 35 days across from those motherfuckers,” she said. “The last time the writers and actors went on strike it was in 1960, and we got a little thing called residuals and a health plan and a pension plan, so I expect big fucking things from this time around. We do not take this lightly. We are on the right side of history. Hey, [studio negotiators], we’re ready to rumble. You will not bleed us out! Let us know when you come to your senses. Here’s to a hot guild summer.”

In another spirited speech, Succession actor Arian Moayed said, “It’s like these people haven’t seen fucking Succession! — it’s about you. The most important thing we can do right now as a unit, as a group, is to keep together. … United we will beat them.”

The Good Fight star Christine Baranski declared, “If this industry can generate millions, hundreds of millions, in compensation for those at the top, it can afford to share the wealth. We will not live under corporate feudalism. It is time to make things right. Our contribution will not be undervalued, and we will not be replaced.”

(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter