Fran Drescher on SAG-AFTRA Strike: ‘We’re Striking for the Journeyman,’ Not Tom Cruise

During an exclusive interview with Variety, Fran Drescher, who currently serves as the national president of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Arts (aka SAG-AFTRA), discussed the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Now in its second week, SAG-AFTRA officially began its strike on July 14th. While speaking to the Nanny star, Drescher began by stating that the decision to strike wasn’t a choice that was taken lightly.

The actor said, “You don’t know how much preparation we’ve put into this.”

Drescher later noted, “I didn’t just pull into this job even though a lot of people may think that. I have been running a nonpartisan administration, to galvanize the leadership of this massive audience towards this seminal negotiation, and I’m calling it the Fran Plan. The secret sauce is a lot of time to listen to everyone. And that’s why we’ve had such unprecedented solidarity: 100% in the negotiating room, 100% in the boardroom and 91% of the membership for the strike authorization vote.”

As for what inspired her to run for SAG president back in 2021, the Hotel Transylvania star said, “Actually, I got a call. People wanted Rosie O’Donnell. She got a call from my friend Camryn Manheim who said to Rosie, ‘Would you run?’ She said, ‘No, I cannot. I have a young special needs daughter, but I wouldn’t even be good for it. I’m gonna tell you who would be perfect for it. She’s the smartest woman I know. Call Fran Drescher.'”

Diving into the SAG-AFTRA strike, Drescher noted, “When we started talking about what we’re going to ask for I was driving home to everybody that this has to be a seminal negotiation. We can’t just make incremental changes because what things are gonna give us more? They’re gonna raise the cap, some residuals, how much are they going to raise the minimum?”

She continued, “Again, at the end of the day, we’re moving furniture around on the Titanic. Because this is a new business model. The whole residual component of the old contract: What is the longevity of the show and the long string of pay, none of that exists with streaming? We have to find the pocket of that money, so we get our rightful share because we’re building this platform and they are building the business on us.”

RELATED: The Biggest Misconceptions of the Ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strike (& Why You Should Care)

Fran Drescher Admitted That She Initially Went Into the Negotiation “With a Certain Level of Trust”

Drescher later stated, “This is my first negotiation. In hindsight, I could see how we were being manipulated. But at the time, I came into it with a certain level of trust, that we would actually be able to make a contract. But whenever we start getting to the meat of these situations, we start to see that we’re getting stonewalled.”

The actor added, “We’re coming back with open response counter proposals, and so, actually, in earnest we still gave them an unprecedented 12-day extension to come back with something really meaningful. And during that time, they canceled our negotiation meetings. And, again, I thought, maybe they’re duking it out behind closed doors, maybe they’re gonna come back with something that we can really start to roll up our sleeves. They just wanted to get more time to promote their summer movies and they had no intention of using that extension for anything else.”

The Happily Divorced star said, “We wanted to avert a strike, if at all possible. That is the point because most of our members don’t make $10,000 a year, some don’t make $65,000 a year. Most members are working class. So the impact of a strike did weigh heavy on me and the negotiating committee, that a strike would have a profound impact on them, but they did give us unprecedented support to strike if we felt like we needed it.”

She continued, “We gave them 12 days to come up with something. The nerve of some of the things that they’re saying now! That our actions are hurting the business. Please! By the time this comes out, we will have released all of the information about all of the proposals, all of the counter proposals are going to be right there for everyone to see, and that’s gonna cut right through all the lies.”

Drescher added, “Remember, Tom Cruise and top people make their own deal. That’s not who we are striking for. We’re striking for the journeyman.”

The comedian also revealed whether or not she’s concerned about how the strike or her comments about Disney CEO Bob Iger could affect her in the future.

Drescher began by saying, “I’m in this unique position right now. And it’s very historic. And I really feel like this is my calling. You know I’ve been talking about the hero’s journey a lot. And when we take the hero’s journey, you know that it comes with great sacrifice. You know that you would rather not have to do it. I don’t even get paid! Life has called you to take that hero’s journey. There are times when they feel like, I can’t do it. I want out. And yet, they do it. So that’s where I’m at right now.”

She added, “My speech at that press conference reverberated around the world. It spoke to workers everywhere; it is bigger than the sum of its parts. I’m not going to worry about my career. I’ve had a fantastic career. If anybody in this industry wishes to blacklist me or being on the side of right and good, then whatever. I follow Buddhist teaching or call myself a Jew Bu. I let life unfold. I don’t have a crystal ball. I’m not going to speculate. I don’t know where this will lead. All I know is in the now, which is what Buddhism teaches you, to remain present. This is my calling and I’m going to meet this moment.”