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 1000’s of actors and entertainers striking in Hollywood and across the country with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) for the primary time in over six a long time.
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 brand new technology of television. Without that strike and the agreement it birthed, residual use payments wouldn’t exist.”
“My parents stole nearly all of my salary from my entire childhood,” he continued. “My Star Trek residuals were all I had, they usually kept me afloat for 20 years while I rebuilt my life.”
“I even have healthcare and a pension due to my union. The AMPTP billionaires need to take all that security away in order that they can provide CEOs much more grotesque wealth on the expense of the individuals who make our industry run.”
Wheaton went on, “To provide some sense of what’s at stake: There are actors who star in massively successful, profitable, critically acclaimed shows which are all on streaming services. You see them on a regular basis. They’re famous, A-list celebrities.”
The actor noted that “nearly all” of those performers “don’t earn enough to qualify for medical health insurance.”
“The studios forced them to just accept a buyout for all their residuals (decade of reuse, as a minimum) that’s lower than I earned for one week on TNG. And I used to be the bottom paid solid member in 1988. They need to do that 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 dealing conditions,” he continued, saying actors must “fight for the long run of our industry within the face of adjusting technology,” referring to the rise of artificial intelligence.
“So today, my Spacemom and I went to the place where it began for us, way back when, to just do that,” he said, referring to McFadden.
Apart 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.”