Danny Trejo on SAG strike: “We’re not all Tom Cruise”

Machete don’t text and his real-life counterpart don’t put up with nonsense from producers and studio heads. Danny Trejo stepped out in support of his fellow actors amid the SAG-AFTRA strike last week outside of Paramount Pictures, saying, “We’re all on the Titanic looking for a good seat!”

Speaking with CNBC, Danny Trejo laid out his take on the strike as such: “All we’re asking is for everybody to be fair, that’s it. Just fair and…eveything’s gone up but our wages. So it’s like…we’re all not Tom Cruise,” whose net worth has been pegged around $600 million by some sources. Trejo also left a message for California governor Gavin Newsom, urging him to “Call me!” So maybe bump that to the top of the calendar, Gavin – Trejo is not a dude you want to mess with.

Two of the hottest triggers for the SAG-AFTRA strike – which is just over one week old but is already showing its impact on the industry – are the use of artificial intelligence and residuals related to streaming services. “Let me tell you something: I’m worried about regular intelligence! Now it’s like they’re gonna…that means they can use our image,” he said, referring to the studios trying scan and own “digital likenesses” of actors – something the union downright refused to give into. “So now, residuals have basically [slowed] down and it’s like, ‘Wait a minute, give us a piece of that pie, too!” He added that AI could quickly be a genuine threat to the craft, saying, “Anything that takes away is not good.”

Danny Trejo also pointed out that so many people have lost jobs of the SAG-AFTRA strike and will continue to do so, citing the greed of Hollywood suits. “Right now it’s like all the producers are making some dough and the only thing that’s working is: nobody’s working!…This affects a lot of people, this affects every restaurant around here, this affects every gardener around here…My gardener’s at my house right now waiting for some money!”

But Danny Trejo – who owns numerous restaurants – wasn’t just outside of Paramount to make a statement on the strike: he was bringing food and water to his fellow strikers.

What are your thoughts on Danny Trejo’s take on the current actors strike? Does he make fair points?