Europe: How the SAG-AFTRA strike is going to affect you

The SAG-AFTRA strike, which began on July 14, 2023, is expected to have a significant impact on the film and television industry in Europe.

One of the most immediate effects of the strike will be the cancellation or postponement of productions that are currently filming in Europe. This means productions currently shooting in Europe such as Emily in Paris, Amateur (with Rami Malek), Gladiator 2, and Wicked (Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Michelle Yeoh) will be put on hold, as they are filming under SAG-AFTRA contracts.

And the obvious consequence of this is the European cast and crew will find themselves out of work.

For American productions in Europe which are not shooting under SAG-AFTRA contracts, the situation is slightly trickier. The second season of House of the Dragon is shooting in the UK under an Equity contract (the UK’s actor union). and in theory it could continue to shoot. However, Equity has a great deal of sympathy with SAG-AFTRA and its actors may agree not to work in solidarity with their American cousins which would mean the production shutting down.

(It should also be noted, that if a European actor continues to work during the strike and is seen to support an American production during this time, they may not be welcome in the US further down the line and it could be held against them and their career could suffer.)

But on the other hand, for some local European actors, the strike could be of benefit to them (outside the general push for better working conditions and recompense).

For a start local productions won’t be affected. Homegrown soaps and local indie films will carry on as normal and there should be more casting calls on enCAST for these types of jobs.

In addition, we might see some productions which were scheduled to shoot in the USA come over to Europe to avoid the striking actors. For example, we have heard rumours that a film that was to shoot with a named American actor in Austin, Texas, is now scheduled to shoot in Budapest with a French actor in the lead instead.

So right now it’s hard to say exactly what the affect of the SAG-AFTRA strike will be on European actors, especially as there’s no clear idea of when the strike might end.

It’s a guessing game, but the consequences could be interesting.

• less US productions filming in Europe means less opportunities for European actors on an international stage…
• which leads to more competition for local roles…
• which could mean lowering of conditions – lower fees and poorer conditions…

But then, some American productions might bypass the US and film in Europe which leads to 

• more roles for European actors who replace American actors…
• but they might be penalised later on for taking an American role…

And there are still more possible consequences. American productions tend to have a more diverse cast than productions in many European countries. This could mean we see less diversity on screen and less minority representation which is not a good thing.

It is still too early to say what the long-term impact of the strike will be but one thing we can be sure about is that the strike will have a significant impact on actors and productions in Europe.