Will Smith has taken to Instagram and Twitter to support the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. A member of SAG-AFTRA, Smith wrote about the importance of this moment for both guilds.
“I wanna talk for a second about ACTING,” Smith wrote. “As some might be heard, my guild, @SAGAFTRA, and our writer colleagues in the WGA are on strike. It’s a pivotal moment for our profession.”
The WGA has been on strike since April and SAG-AFTRA since July 14, calling for negotiations with studios for fairer contracts. The SAG-AFTRA Foundation replied to Smith, “Thank you for your support, Will!”
In addition to identifying the strike as a “pivotal moment,” Smith also reminisced on how far he’s come in his 30-plus years of acting and expressed gratitude to a mentor of his, Aaron Speiser.
“33 years into my career as an actor and there are still some days when I feel like I’m that kid from Philly who’s on borrowed time, even though I know I’ve been extraordinarily blessed and lucky to have worked as an actor all this time,” Smith continued. “Thanks to my friend, my teacher, and my mentor @aaronspeiser, whom I fondly refer to as ‘coach,’ those days when I feel like I don’t belong are fewer and further between.”
The accompanying photo shows Smith posing alongside students at The Screen Acting Studio, where he dropped in on a class. Speiser works at The Screen Acting Studio and hosts “Coach The Podcast.”
He concluded the post by thanking his mentor and expressing his faith in the next generation of actors to take on the industry.
“Coach invited me to acting class the other day, and I met a group of our talented next generation of actors, and they amazed and inspired me!” Smith wrote. “I’m grateful to coach for continuing to support these talented hopefuls in this art form that I love and have been lucky to work in for three decades! Thanks, COACH!” he concluded.
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