Star Trek: Next Generation star Wil Wheaton took to Instagram recently to share his experience as a child actor in Hollywood and address the issue of residuals. Sharing a photo from the SAG-AFTRA picket line, the Stand By Me actor said his parents “stole” his income and that his Star Trek residuals were “all he had.”
“In 1960, SAG and WGA struck to force management to adapt to the new technology of television. Without that strike and the agreement it birthed, residual use payments would not exist,” the Big Bang Theory actor captioned a photo of himself with his Star Trek costar Gates McFadden.
“My parents stole nearly all of my salary from my entire childhood. My Star Trek residuals were all I had, and they kept me afloat for two decades while I rebuilt my life,” he added.
Further commenting on why the actors are on strike, Wheaton said, “I have healthcare and a pension because of my union. The AMPTP billionaires want to take all that security away so they can give CEOs even more grotesque wealth at the expense of the people who make our industry run.”