Lucifer star David Bryan (D.B.) Woodside recently shared his complaints that actors are footing too many bills when they have to film on location for television series that are done outside of Los Angeles.
Woodside’s comments come in the first week of the SAG-AFTRA strike. He shared to Twitter, “The overwhelming majority of TV shows are not filmed in LA where most live. So, what does that mean? Well, if you’re a series regular on a TV show you get flown to another city (another country, Canada usually) where you’re expected to LIVE for the duration of filming.”
He continued, “They give you a ‘relocation fee’ to get you ‘started.’ Usually falls between $4,000 – $8,000. That’s it. For the LIFE OF THAT SERIES. Not every season. ONCE. I repeat: ONCE.”
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“So if you’re on a show for 5, 6, 7 seasons you’re expected to pay your rents/mortgages and car leases back IN LA where most live,” Woodside elaborated. “You are also expected to pay for your rent and rental cars in the city that they decide to move you to for the duration of that series. 4, 5, 6, 7 seasons depending on the success of your show.”
He went on, “Most of us pay month to month. Or, we find a lease that we have to break when the job is over. Or, we find another actor friend that will take over that lease. I’ve done this with my homie, Meagan Tandy.”
Woodside then relayed, “Add airline tickets to fly back and forth to see your partners and children. We pay for that shit too. This happens EVERY SINGLE SEASON on TV shows throughout the USA that film outside of LA.”
“I don’t know many folks that can easily afford a mortgage, an apartment rental, two cars, one a lease, the other a rental car, AND airline tickets to see their families and not eventually feel the pain financially,” he opined.
He then asserted, “And THAT is why when most jobs finish actors are racing to find the next job because the clock is always ticking financially.”
Woodside then connected his complaints to one of SAG-AFTRA’s sticking points about receiving fair residuals for the films and TV shows they are featured in.
He said, “RESIDUALS MATTER. This idea that all actors are millionaires is BULLSHIT. The top 1% of actors are doing very well. The majority of actors are not.
“Lastly, it wasn’t always that way. It was changed for ‘cost cutting’ purposes,” he concluded. “But guess who saves MILLIONS by shooting in other cities and countries? The Studios.”
Following Woodside’s post, Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp affirmed Woodside’s comments and shared his own complaint.
He tweeted, “What D.B. Woodside is very true. I experienced this over the 5 seasons of the tv show I was a regular on. One of the aspects of our business that has changed and one of the reasons we are striking.”
Justified actor Nick Searcy also shared, “This is correct and is my experience as well.”
Supernatural actor Mark Pellegrino also tweeted, “THIS IS TRUTH TRUTH TRUTH.”
Resident Alien actress Alice Wetterlund also responded to Woodside writing, “Also, because the studios get insane tax breaks for hiring local talent, day player roles and guest stars rarely go to Sag-Aftra members anymore. There’s just a lot less work for non-a-list talent bc the studios are outsourcing for more submersible money.”
The actress then posted a quote from an anonymous Apple Studio executive who told All Your Screens, “The golden ticket for every major streamer is to be able to produce a show that looks like it was produced in the U.S. But that was shot overseas with non-union crews and only a handful of American actors.”
She then shared another message warning about AI, “If the conversation and common battle doesn’t go global, they will win and they will run with AI, to the loss of many livelihoods. Every country with a film industry needs to regulate NOW to curb studio execs’ greed – to stop the exploitation of local and international crews and artist.”
The Resident Alien actress concluded her thread “The greed is so unfathomably out of control that they would rather hire actors for a show who they don’t have to pay union minimums for.”
What do you make of Woodside’s revelation that studios do not help actors with living expenses when they film outside of Los Angeles?
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