Actor Wil Wheaton, best known for appearing in “Star Trek and the film “Stand By Me,” has claimed that his parents “stole nearly all of my salary from my entire childhood.”
The TV star, 50, joined thousands of actors and entertainers striking in Hollywood and around the country with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) for the first time in over six decades.
Sharing an Instagram snap from the SAG-AFTRA picket line in Los Angeles alongside actress Cheryl Gates McFadden, Wheaton wrote, “In 1960, SAG and WGA struck to force management to adapt to the new technology of television. Without that strike and the agreement it birthed, residual use payments would not exist.”
“My parents stole nearly all of my salary from my entire childhood,” he continued. “My Star Trek residuals were all I had, and they kept me afloat for two decades while I rebuilt my life.”
“I have healthcare and a pension because of my union. The AMPTP billionaires want to take all that security away so they can give CEOs even more grotesque wealth at the expense of the people who make our industry run.”
Wheaton went on, “To give some sense of what is at stake: There are actors who star in massively successful, profitable, critically acclaimed shows that are all on streaming services. You see them all the time. They are famous, A-list celebrities.”
The actor noted that “nearly all” of those performers “don’t earn enough to qualify for health insurance.”
“The studios forced them to accept a buyout for all their residuals (decade of reuse, at the least) that is less than I earned for one week on TNG. And I was the lowest paid cast member in 1988. They want to do this while studio profits and CEO compensation are at historic highs,” he explained.
“I mean, if not now, when? And I haven’t even touched on AI and working conditions,” he continued, saying actors must “fight for the future of our industry in the face of changing technology,” referring to the rise of artificial intelligence.
“So today, my Spacemom and I went to the place where it started for us, way back when, to do just that,” he said, referring to McFadden.
Aside from his breakout roles in “Star Trek” and the Rob Reimer-directed classic “Stand By Me,” Wheaton appeared in 12 episodes of “The Big Bang Theory.”
He later dabbled in voiceover work, lending his voice to characters in “Ben 10” and “Teen Titans.”
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