It had been nearly a week since the SAG-AFTRA strikes began, and actors had started to reveal how much they get paid for their work. It turned out that pay issues aren’t limited to streaming shows; even successful network TV programs didn’t offer fair wages to their actors. One of them was Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide.
Former Nickelodeon star, Devon Werkheiser, revealed on TikTok that he had never received any residuals for the popular children’s program. Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, which aired between 2004 to 2007, had three seasons and over 50 episodes. Despite receiving an average audience score of 85 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and plans for an adult spin-off, Werkheiser didn’t receive any residuals when the show made it to Netflix, despite being a SAG-AFTRA member since he was a kid.
Werkheiser believed that the corporate and business interests in Hollywood “disrespected and devalued” the labor that built the industry. He thought that what happened to him should be illegal and couldn’t understand how big companies got away with it.
He’s not alone. Other actors and actresses shared on social media how shockingly low their earnings were. This Is Us star, Mandy Moore, revealed that she earned less than a dollar, despite having a main role in the NBC series for six seasons. Meanwhile, Orange is the New Black‘s, Kimiko Glenn, revealed that she had only earned $27.30 after appearing in 45 episodes of the popular Netflix hit.
Recently, SAG-AFTRA released a detailed list of negotiations and the counters made by the AMPTP. It also revealed that the companies knew they tended to be late when it came to paying their actors and would still continue to do so.
The ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes have received a lot of support, with a former network executive calling out current CEOs and actors to take a pay cut. At the same time, it was reported that Tom Cruise, an actor with an estimated net worth of 600 million, was present during a negotiating session in June between the guilds and studios to discuss concerns about the use of A.I.
SAG-AFTRA predicted that if changes aren’t made to the new contract, acting will no longer be a viable career for the next generation, and they will have to take up multiple jobs if they want to work in this industry.