Fran Drescher says actors strike she’s leading is an ‘inflection point’ that goes beyond Hollywood

ANDREW DALTON and KRYSTA FAURIA

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fran Drescher believes that the walkouts that have paralyzed Hollywood are about much more than the actors union she leads, the writers striking alongside them, or the entertainment industry.

According to Drescher, the moment is about the entire world of work, as well as a larger stand against corporate leaders who prioritize shareholders over the people who create their product.

“At some point, you have to say no more,” said Drescher, the former “Nanny” star and current president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, in an interview Wednesday at the union’s headquarters. “I believe it has taken on a broader scope, that it is greater than the sum of its parts.” I believe there is now a discussion about the culture of big business and how it treats everyone up and down the corporate ladder in the name of profit.”

Drescher, 65, has been the president of the Screen Actors Guild since September 2021, when she defeated “Stranger Things” actor Matthew Modine in a union election.

For many members and observers, however, the day she truly became president was July 13, when Drescher delivered a rousing, fiery, and inspiring speech at a news conference announcing that talks had broken down and a strike was about to begin.

“Shame on them,” she said of the studio and streaming service executives. They find themselves on the wrong side of history.”

Drescher told the Associated Press that she had no intention of standing on a soapbox that day. She was supposed to read a prepared statement before taking questions.

“I quickly looked at it and said, ‘You know what, I can’t say this, I really feel like I have to speak from the heart,'” she explained. “That just kind of came out of my mouth, and I’m glad I was able to express myself so succinctly, sincerely, and authentically.” And I think it’s fascinating how people respond when you speak from the heart. Because they must see a lot of people who don’t.”

Drescher is the guild’s first president to preside over a film and television actors strike since 1980. At the time, the union had only one female leader. Seven have now done so, including three of the last five.

The Screen Actors Guild (which merged with AFTRA in 2012) has produced a number of notable presidents, including James Cagney, Ronald Reagan, and Charlton Heston.

However, few people in recent decades have had a more recognizable name, face, voice, or laugh as Drescher. She made her film debut in the 1977 John Travolta disco classic “Saturday Night Fever,” and after many similar small but memorable roles, nearly always as brash New Yorkers, she starred on the sitcom “The Nanny” for six seasons from 1993 to 1999.

Drescher co-created the show and portrayed Fran Fine, a character who becomes a children’s caretaker for an upper-crust Manhattan family. Her similarities to herself extended beyond her name: she was born and raised in Queens, New York, was blunt to a fault, and punctuated sentences with a nasal giggle.

She claims that the industry has changed dramatically since then.

“I’m very grateful that I got my big break during that time and not this time,” Drescher said. “When I started working on ‘The Nanny’ at CBS, it was still a family business.” You knew who the owners were and could communicate with them. And everything is different now.”

She has a very different perspective now that she is in a very different caretaking role.

“Now, when you have a business model where CEOs are more connected to shareholders and not to the people who actually make the product that they’re selling,” she explained. “I believe you have an unsustainable breakdown.”

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the employers’ group, recently reopened negotiations with the Writers Guild of America, whose members have been on strike for nearly four months. The talks have yielded little. According to Drescher, the AMPTP has yet to contact SAG-AFTRA leadership about resuming negotiations.

“I’m not sure what the silent treatment is,” Drescher admitted. “It could be a tactical strategy to see if they can wait us out until we lose our resolve, and then make a better deal for themselves.”

Nothing like that will happen, according to Drescher.

“This is an inflection point,” she explained. “I don’t think anyone in charge of the AMPTP understands that.”This is unlike any previous negotiation. We’re in a completely different league now. And, frankly, unless things change dramatically, I believe this strike will have a significant impact on them.”