Sean Astin
Wave Wire Services
LOS ANGELES — In national balloting, “The Lord of the Rings” cast member Sean Astin has been elected president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, one of Hollywood’s most powerful labor unions.
Astin, 54, will lead the 160,000-member guild as the industry is still recovering from the 118-day strike in the summer of 2023 — and has another round of contract negotiations with the major studios on tap next year.
Astin collected 79% of the votes cast in the election, according to the actors guild. Voting closed Sept. 12 with Astin beating his opponent Chuck Slavin, a background actor and performer in indie movies.
Astin succeeds Fran Drescher, who declined to seek reelection after four years at the helm.
Astin’s running mate, Michelle Hurd, was elected as SAG-AFTRA’s secretary-treasurer. Hurd has acted in shows such as “Star Trek: Picard” and movies including the romantic comedy “Anyone But You.”
Their two-year terms began immediately.
The new president will play a major role as actors face an array of worries including threats from artificial intelligence; revenues from streaming; productions moving overseas; decreasing job numbers; and increasing health care costs.
Drescher endorsed Astin, who’s known for his roles in the “Rings” trilogy and “Rudy.” He has served on the union’s national and local boards, as well as on various negotiating committees. His mother, Academy Award-winner Patty Duke, president of the union from 1985-88. His father was actor John Astin, best known for his role as Gomez in the 1960s television series “The Addams Family.”
Drescher said during the strike that guild members were being “victimized by a very greedy entity,” and she warned of the threat posed by artificial intelligence systems to actors’ jobs.
Although she helped win AI protections and bonuses tied to streaming viewership, some voters reportedly have said they want additional gains such as better streaming residuals.
Challenges continue to mount as Hollywood’s rank-and-file watch studios move productions overseas, and television and film work in the Los Angeles area shrinks. Work opportunities appear to be growing in the area of video content for platforms such as YouTube and Instagram, but those jobs are often nonunion.
