LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean Astin has taken on the presidency of the SAG-AFTRA at a particularly perilous time for the actors union, and for Hollywood. There's the threat of human actors being replaced by artificial intelligence. The ongoing upheavals of streaming. Studio consolidation and realignment.
Nearly three years ago, the actors launched a four-month strike, securing some protections and higher wages. And on Monday, negotiations on a new three-year contract with studio and streamers are already beginning again.
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SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin shows off a finished solid bronze Actor statuette during the 32nd Actor Awards statuette pouring event presented by SAG-AFTRA on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at American Fine Arts Foundry in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin shows off a finished solid bronze Actor statuette during the 32nd Actor Awards statuette pouring event presented by SAG-AFTRA on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at American Fine Arts Foundry in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin poses for a portrait at his office in Los Angeles on Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin poses for a portrait at his office in Los Angeles on Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin poses for a portrait at his office in Los Angeles on Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
So what actor would want this role?
“In my imagination, growing up, I would want to have been in a place of consequence,” he told The Associated Press in an interview in his office at the guild's Los Angeles headquarters. “And so to have the opportunity to be in a role, leading a union of 160,000 people at this moment of consequence when there’s turmoil, when there’s fear and uncertainty and danger, this is exactly where I want to be.”
Astin, an elected board member during the strike who left his mark as a fiery rally speaker, won the presidency in September, replacing the outgoing Fran Drescher.
As an actor, the now-54-year-old is known as the leader of a scrappy band of kids in 1985's “The Goonies,” an aspiring football player with never-ending grit in 1993's “Rudy,” and Samwise Gamgee, Frodo Baggins' steadfast bestie in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
He's a SAG lifer, becoming a member as a young boy in 1981. His mother, Oscar winner Patty Duke, who died in 2016, was president of the guild from 1985 to 1988, before it added the -AFTRA in a 2012 merger.
His father, John Astin, now 95, is best known for playing Gomez on “The Addams Family.” His brother Mackenzie Astin is a child star turned journeyman actor who recently had a three-episode arc on “The Pitt.”
Sean Astin said he hopes to get actors like his brother, who rely heavily on small ongoing payments for guest roles, to have streaming residuals pay as well as they do for broadcast TV.
“I can’t wait to be at a Thanksgiving or a Christmas with him and nudge him and say, ‘Hey, how’s your residuals doing?’” he said.
Astin said he has reason to believe the new talks won't start with actors and their employers at each other's throats.
“They came in last time provoking the fight,” he said, referring to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. “They wanted the strike. No question in my mind. I was in those rooms every single day. They’re sending much different signals now. They’re sending signals of wanting stability, of wanting to work as partners again.”
The AMPTP said in a statement to the AP that the group representing studios and streamers looked “forward to working collaboratively with our partners at SAG-AFTRA as we commence formal bargaining.”
“By taking the time to thoughtfully engage on the challenges confronting our industry, we are optimistic that, together, we can reach a fair deal that reflects our shared commitment to supporting our industry’s talented performers and promoting long-term stability,” the statement said.
Astin said the guild won't yield any of the ground it won in 2023, whether it be wage increases or requiring informed consent for the use of actors' likenesses via AI. and that means they can’t disarm in advance -- striking is not out of the question, whatever the lingering pains from last time.
“There’s only one real tool available to a labor union in a negotiation, and that’s saying no,” Astin said. “We reserve the right to say no again if we need to.”
On March 1, the guild will hold the world's most glamorous union meeting, the newly renamed Actor Awards, where high-profile members like Leonardo DiCaprio and Emma Stone are nominated. But the vast majority of acting members don't even make the approximately $27,000 a year required to qualify for guild health insurance. And Astin represents the guild's full membership — including video game actors, puppeteers, broadcast journalists and TV announcers. He's spent much of his time since his election — and plenty before that — learning the specific concerns of, for example, stunt drivers or actors who live in Minnesota or New Mexico.
“I will say to everybody, I’m gonna fight as hard for you as anybody has ever fought for you, for your issue,” he said. “People say, ‘You can’t fight for everybody equally.’ I say, ‘Yes, I can.’”
A speech Samwise gives in “The Two Towers” — “There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for” — became an Astin rallying cry during the strike.
He said that he can also draw from his other characters for traits he ought to embody now.
“The qualities that make Rudy special — determination, grit, inspiration, aspiration — whatever is a part of that thing that makes him, makes his story touch the lives of so many people, is the part of myself that I want to pour into this job on behalf of my members,” he said.
And then there's Mikey from “The Goonies.”
“If you think of ‘The Goonies,’ ‘The Goonies’ is about saving their home,” he said. “It’s fun, there’s a pirate ship, but it’s about a group of friends who don’t want to be overtaken by industrialists. Maybe that’s the most important one.”
SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin shows off a finished solid bronze Actor statuette during the 32nd Actor Awards statuette pouring event presented by SAG-AFTRA on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at American Fine Arts Foundry in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin shows off a finished solid bronze Actor statuette during the 32nd Actor Awards statuette pouring event presented by SAG-AFTRA on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at American Fine Arts Foundry in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin poses for a portrait at his office in Los Angeles on Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin poses for a portrait at his office in Los Angeles on Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin poses for a portrait at his office in Los Angeles on Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
CAIRO (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump's appeal to China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz “open and safe” brought no commitments on Sunday as oil prices soar during the Iran war.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told CBS that Tehran has been “approached by a number of countries” seeking safe passage for their vessels, “and this is up to our military to decide.” He said a group of vessels from “different countries” had been allowed to pass, without providing details.
Iran has said the strait, through which one-fifth of global oil exports normally pass, is open to all except the United States and its allies.
Araghchi added that “we don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans” about finding a way to end the war, noting that Israel and the U.S. started the fighting with coordinated attacks on Feb. 28 during indirect U.S.-Iran talks on Iran's nuclear program. He also said Tehran had “no plan to recover” the enriched uranium that is under rubble following U.S. and Israeli attacks last year.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told NBC he has been “in dialogue” with some of the countries Trump mentioned, and said he expected China “will be a constructive partner” in reopening the strait.
But countries made no promises.
Britain said Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday discussed with Trump the importance of reopening the strait "to end the disruption to global shipping,” and spoke with Canada’s prime minister about it separately.
A spokesperson for China’s embassy to the U.S., Liu Pengyu, said “all parties have the responsibility to ensure stable and unimpeded energy supply” and that China would “strengthen communication with relevant parties” for de-escalation.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it “takes note” of Trump’s call and that it “will closely coordinate and carefully review” the situation with the U.S.
Expectations are high that Trump will ask Japan directly when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets him on Thursday at the White House.
France previously said it is working with countries — President Emmanuel Macron mentioned partners in Europe, India and Asia — on a possible international mission to escort ships through the strait but has stressed it must be when “the circumstances permit,” when fighting has subsided.
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul of Germany, which was not mentioned in Trump's call, told ARD television: “Will we soon be an active part of this conflict? No.”
Meanwhile, emergency oil stocks “will soon start flowing to global markets,” the International Energy Agency said Sunday, describing the collective action to lower prices “by far the largest ever.”
It updated last week’s announcement of 400 million barrels to nearly 412 million. Asian member countries plan to release stocks “immediately,” and reserves from Europe and the Americas will be released “from the end of March.”
Gulf Arab states including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain reported new missile or drone attacks a day after Iran called for the evacuation of three major ports in the United Arab Emirates — the first time it has threatened a neighboring country’s non-U.S. assets.
Tehran has accused the U.S. of launching Friday's strikes on Kharg Island, home to Iran’s primary oil terminal, from the UAE, without providing evidence. It has threatened to attack U.S.-linked “oil, economic and energy infrastructures” if its oil infrastructure is hit.
U.S. Central Command said it had no response to Iran’s claim, and Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, rejected it. Gulf countries that host U.S. bases have denied allowing their land or airspace to be used for military operations against Iran.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Arab Gulf neighbors during the war, causing significant damage and rattling economies even as most are intercepted. Tehran says it targets U.S. assets, even as Iranian strikes are reported at civilian sites such as airports and oil fields.
Iranian strikes have killed at least a dozen civilians in Gulf countries, most of them migrant workers.
In Iran, the International Committee for the Red Cross said more than 1,300 people have been killed. Iran’s Health Ministry said 223 women and 202 children are among the dead, according to Mizan, the judiciary’s official news agency.
Iran’s government on Sunday showed journalists buildings damaged by strikes in Tehran on Friday. A police station was hit and surrounding buildings were damaged. Some apartments’ outer walls had been stripped away.
“God had mercy on all of us,” said Elham Movagghari, a resident. Other Iranians are leaving the country.
In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire and more have been injured, including three on Sunday. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed, six in a plane crash in Iraq last week.
At least 820 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to its Health Ministry, since Iran-backed Hezbollah hit Israel and Israel responded with strikes and sent additional troops into southern Lebanon. In just 10 days, more than 800,000 people — nearly one out of every seven residents of Lebanon — have been displaced.
Israel’s military said early Monday that Iran launched missiles toward Israel.
Earlier, several strikes hit central Israel and the Tel Aviv area, where they caused damage at 23 sites and sparked a small fire. Magen David Adom, Israel’s rescue service, released video showing a large crater in a street and shrapnel damage to an apartment building.
Israel’s military says Iran is firing cluster bombs that can evade some air defenses and scatter submunitions across multiple locations.
Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank, Frankel from Jerusalem and Anna from Lowville, New York. Associated Press journalists Sally Abou AlJoud and Fadi Tawil in Beirut, John Leicester in Paris, Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, and Fatima Hussein and Tia Goldenberg in Washington contributed to this report.
This version corrects to say Araghchi was speaking to CBS, not NBC as previously reported.
People walk past tents sheltering people displaced by Israeli airstrikes at a public space along the Beirut waterfront at sunset in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
People gather outside an apartment building damaged by an Iranian missile strike in Bnei Brak, Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
People shout slogans during an anti U.S. and Israeli rally outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, March 15, 2026. The sign reads in Turkish: "Leave NATO, close the bases." (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Heavy rain falls over tents sheltering people displaced by Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon and Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, along the Beirut waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Volunteers clean debris from a residential building damaged when a nearby police station was hit Friday in a U.S.-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A cargo ship sails in the Arabian Gulf towards Strait of Hormuz in United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Firefighters extinguish fire at a site damaged during an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Volunteers clean debris from a residential building damaged when a nearby police station was hit Friday in a U.S.-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Home Front Command officer works at an apartment damaged after an Iranian strike in Bnei Brak, Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Smoke rises from the rubble of buildings destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man photographs the rubble of buildings destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Smoke rises from the U.S. embassy building in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Jabar)
Mourners react during the funeral ceremony for Gen. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Defense Council and a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader who was killed in a strike, at the courtyard of the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Two men ride their motorbike past a billboard of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Fire and plumes of smoke rise from an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
A man chants slogan while the body of Gen. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Defense Council and a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader who was killed in a strike, is being buried at the courtyard of the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
