Oppenheimer Cast Walks Out of Premiere as Actors’ Strike Set to Begin

In one of the first major actions that signals the impending actors’ strike, Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan confirmed at the film’s U.K. premiere that the film’s cast had left the event in solidarity with all those SAG-AFTRA members striking worldwide. Various members of the cast and crew had been in attendance at the premiere, which had even been moved up by an hour to allow more time for the cast to speak with press ahead of the screening, and many of those in attendance spoke in support of the strike in the event that a fair deal hadn’t been reached.

“I have to acknowledge the work of our incredible cast, led by Cillian Murphy,” Nolan shared during an introduction of the film. “Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Kenneth Branagh … so many more. We have to acknowledge, you’ve seen them here earlier on on the carpet. Unfortunately, they’re off to write their picket signs for the imminent strike by SAG, joining my guild, one of my guilds, the writers’ guild, in the struggle for fair wages.” 

The strike was a major topic among many stars speaking with press at the event, with their attendance likely being an opportunity to spread the message of the situation.

“It’s brutal for our sister unions. It’s brutal for IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees). It’s going to be tough for 160,000 actors. Nobody wants a work stoppage, but if our leadership is saying that the deal isn’t fair, then we got to hold strong until we get a deal that’s fair for working actors,” Damon revealed to Deadline at the event. “It’s the difference between having health care and not for a lot of actors. We got to do what’s right by them.” 

Damon’s costars echoed these remarks.

“I think right now we are just sorting of… I hope everyone makes a fair deal and we are here to celebrate this movie. And if they call it, we’ll be leaving together as cast in unity with everyone,” Blunt expressed to Deadline. “We are gonna have to. We are gonna have to. We will see what happens. Right now it’s the joy to be together.”

With the writers’ strike already taking a major toll on various productions for the last few months, the situation will likely see even more major delays to some of Hollywood’s most highly anticipated projects.

Oppenheimer lands in theaters on July 21st.

What do you think of the situation? Let us know in the comments!