Hollywood

Tom Hanks, Strike Breaker?

Why his opposition is particularly bad for SAG.

Among the A-list stars who signed a letter on Monday opposing an actors' strike, Tom Hanks' signature may be most troublesome for the Screen Actors Guild. "His nice-guy reputation in and out of the industry makes it difficult for his opponents to say they are on the side of the angels," David Carr and Brooks Barnes write in today's New York Times. While actors like Mel Gibson and Martin Sheen have lined up behind a strike, the resistance of stars like Hanks, George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Charlize Theron may spell the end of SAG as we know it. "Many of the smartest people in Hollywood say a strike will split the union in half, with the tiny sliver of the guild that works splintering off from the big chunk that would seem to have nothing better to do than strike."