Former “Criminal Minds” actor Mandy Patinkin jumped into the picket line on Wednesday amid the ongoing Hollywood writers strike.
Patinkin picked up a sign and joined the protest on behalf of the Writers Guild of America, which has been on strike since May 2 over failed negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
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Mandy Patinkin: “Without writers we have nothing!” #WritersGuildStrike @WGAEast pic.twitter.com/5lx4sKw6JT
— Lisa Takeuchi Cullen 竹内理沙 (@LisaCullen) May 10, 2023
“Don’t be stupid!” Patinkin can be heard shouting in the video. “Make sure you take care of people! You guys get millions and millions of dollars — for God’s sake, without the writers, we’re nothing!”
The “Princess Bride” alum went on to say that writers provide the storylines, the jokes, and the dialogue that made actors and directors look good when all is said and done.
“They create the stories that make our hearts beat. Help out now!” he concluded before walking away from the camera.
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On Monday, Patinkin posted a video that he described as what he “would be doing on TV without writers.”
“Writers are asking for fairness: when the studios invest millions into producing a film or series, they can pay for the value writers create,” he added. The attached video showed him staring off into space for about 17 seconds.
This is what I would be doing on TV without writers.
Writers are asking for fairness: when the studios invest millions into producing a film or series, they can pay for the value writers create. #WGAStrong #WGAStrike @WGAEast @WGAWest pic.twitter.com/CVQwBZocQC
— Mandy Patinkin (@PatinkinMandy) May 8, 2023
The strike has already begun to cripple the industry as work on most shows has come to an abrupt halt. Late-night shows hosted by comedians Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Fallon have ceased production entirely. And while ABC’s midday talk show “The View” has continued to air live, host Whoopi Goldberg issued a warning to viewers that she and her co-hosts might be less entertaining without the help they got from writers.
A number of actors have joined Patinkin in acts of solidarity with the striking writers. Comedian Jay Leno delivered donuts to writers on the picket lines in the strike’s early days.
Former late-night talk show host Jay Leno surprised a group of picketing writers in Los Angeles with donuts on Wednesday, during day two of the ongoing WGA strike pic.twitter.com/kf7Oi71iNh
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) May 4, 2023
Fallon and fellow late-night host Seth Meyers have put up some of their own cash to help pay staffers while their shows are shut down.