As head of the actors guild, Sean Astin brings a little Rudy, a little Samwise, and a lot of fight

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.

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)

PARIS (AP) — Tennis players at the French Open say they haven’t experienced conditions this hot at Roland Garros since the Paris Olympics.

And the 2024 Olympics were held in July and August.

Temperatures for the opening two days of the clay-court Grand Slam have soared to 33 degrees C (91 F) — far beyond normal for late May in the French capital. And it’s forecast to stay that way for the entire first week.

Besides making it uncomfortable for fans and players alike, the sultry conditions have also created faster conditions on court — changing the pace of the game.

“It is much different. Maybe it was that hot in the Olympics but the balls were different, so I wouldn’t treat it as the same tournament,” four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek said after routing Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-2 in the first round on Monday.

Players have been putting bags of ice around their necks on changeovers to stay cool, while fans are refreshing themselves under sprinklers.

When workers water the clay courts between sets, they have taken to directing their hoses at spectators begging to be doused, too.

“I don’t remember the last time it was so hot at Roland Garros,” Russian-born Australian player Daria Kasatkina said after beating Zeynep Sonmez 6-4, 6-4. “Maybe one day. But we’re going to have it for the whole week.”

Kasatkina said the energy-sapping temperatures made for more up-and-down matches.

“You can suddenly just get out of the bench and feel that your focus dropped,” she said. “So this is a battle which you have to also win. … Whoever adapts better to today’s conditions gets it.”

Canadian player Gabriel Diallo said the heat was the main reason why he retired midway through his match against James Duckworth on Sunday.

Both Andrey Rublev and opponent Ignacio Buse called for the trainer on separate occasions during the second set of their match on Monday.

Buse took a medical timeout and had salts and minerals added to his water bottle as a stethoscope was placed on his chest. Rublev received treatment a few games later.

The French Open is usually cool compared to the heat at the Australian Open and U.S. Open.

But like in Australia and New York, the French Open has adopted an extreme weather policy.

If the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) — which takes into account temperature, humidity, sun, wind and other factors — reaches 30.1 degrees C (86 F) or higher, 10-minute cooling breaks can be installed between the second and third sets for women’s matches and between the third and fourth sets for men’s matches.

If the WBGT hits 32.2 C (90 F), play is suspended. It would require an air temperature of about 38 C (100 F) for play to be suspended.

Some players were embracing the hotter air.

“I’ve always preferred hot and lively conditions to chilly on a clay court, because I feel like I can bring a little bit more of my all-court tennis on this type of surface,” Australian player Alex de Minaur said after beating Toby Samuel 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

“It’s easier to be a little bit more aggressive. The ball is jumping. I don’t necessarily have to use as much spin or heaviness, and I can let the conditions do the job for me. And it’s quite physical. I don’t mind the heat,” De Minaur added.

Same goes for American player Alex Michelsen, who eliminated Alexander Shevchenko in straight sets.

“It’s definitely good for us Americans,” Michelsen said. “Generally we’re big serve, big forehand, big ground game and like to play offense. When it’s super hot, the ball is moving through the air very fast. … I was so happy when I saw the forecast.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

A stadium worker sprays the court with water before the first round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Visitors cool themselves with water from sprinklers during a hot day at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

A woman cools herself with a portable fan during the first round men's singles tennis match between Alex De Minaur of Australia and Toby Samuel of Britain at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Spectators cool themselves with hand fans during the first round women's singles tennis match between Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and Anna Bondar of Hungary at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Poland's Iga Swiatek gestures for a ballboy as he shields her from the sun during a break at the first round women's singles tennis match against Emerson Jones of Australia at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Visitors cool themselves with water from sprinklers during a hot day at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Alex De Minaur of Australia attends a break during the first round men's singles tennis match against Toby Samuel of Britain at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)