LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 Fran Drescher believes that the walkouts that have shut down Hollywood are about something much bigger than the actors union she leads, or the writers striking alongside them, or the entertainment industry.
Drescher the moment is about the , and a larger stand against corporate leaders who value shareholders over the people who create their product.
鈥淎t some point you have to say no more,鈥 Drescher, the former 鈥淣anny鈥 star who is now president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, said in an interview at the union's headquarters Wednesday. 鈥淚 think that it鈥檚 taken on a bigger scope, it鈥檚 greater than the sum of its parts. I think it鈥檚 a conversation now about the culture of big business, and how it treats everybody up and down the ladder in the name of profit.鈥
Drescher, 65, has been president of the actors guild since September of 2021, when she defeated 鈥淪tranger Things鈥 actor Matthew Modine in a union election.
But for many members and observers, the day she truly became president was July 13, when , fiery and for some inspiring speech at the news conference announcing that talks had broken off and a strike was about to begin.
She lashed out at the leaders of the studios and streaming services, saying 鈥淪hame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history.鈥
Drescher told the AP that she had no intention of getting on a soap box that day. She was supposed to read a written statement, then take questions.
鈥淚 looked at it quickly and I said, 鈥榊ou know what, I can鈥檛 say this, I really feel like I have to speak from the heart,'鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat just kind of came out of my mouth, and I鈥檓 glad that I was able to express myself as succinctly and sincerely and authentically as I did. And I think that it鈥檚 fascinating when you speak from the heart, people are so responsive. Because I guess they see a lot of people that don鈥檛.鈥
Drescher is the first president of the guild to preside over a film and TV actors strike since 1980. At the time, only one woman had led the union. Now, seven have, including three of the past five.
The Screen Actors Guild (it merged with AFTRA in 2012) has had plenty of famous presidents, from James Cagney to Ronald Reagan to Charlton Heston.
But few in recent decades have had as recognizable a name, face, voice or laugh as Drescher. She made her film debut with a tiny part in the 1977 John Travolta disco classic 鈥淪aturday Night Fever,鈥 and after many similar small but memorable roles, nearly always as brash New Yorkers, she starred for six seasons on the sitcom 鈥淭he Nanny" from 1993 to 1999.
On the show, which she co-created, Drescher played Fran Fine, a character who becomes a children's caretaker for an upper-crust Manhattan family. The similarities between her character and herself went beyond her name: born and raised in Queens, New York, frank to a fault, and punctuating sentences with a nasal giggle.
She said the business has changed vastly since then.
鈥淚鈥檓 very grateful that I got my big break during that time and not this time,鈥 Drescher said. 鈥淲hen I started on 鈥楾he Nanny鈥 at CBS, that was still a family owned business. You knew who the owners were and you could talk to them. And everything has changed.鈥
In a very different caretaking role today, she has a very different view.
鈥淣ow, when you have a business model where the CEOs are more connected to the shareholders and not to the people that actually make the product that they鈥檙e selling," she said. "I think that you have a breakdown that is unsustainable.鈥
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group representing the employers, , whose members have been on strike for nearly four months. The negotiations have yielded little. Drescher says the AMPTP has yet to reach out to SAG-AFTRA leadership about resuming talks.
鈥淚鈥檓 not really understanding what the silent treatment is,鈥 Drescher said. 鈥淚t could be a tactical strategy to see if we they can wait us out until we lose our resolve and then they can make a better deal for themselves."
Drescher said nothing like that is going to happen.
鈥淭his is an inflection point,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anybody that鈥檚 in charge of the AMPTP quite understands that. "This is not like any past negotiation. We鈥檙e in a whole new ball game. And if things don鈥檛 change radically, quite frankly, I think that they鈥檙e going to ultimately get very hurt by this strike.鈥
