'Abbott Elementary' Star William Stanford Davis Shares Residual Check: 'Can You Believe That?'
William Stanford Davis received a residual for just five cents.
As the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes continue, actors are speaking out about the reasons why they're picketing. Among those is William Stanford Davis, who portrays Abbott Elementary's beloved janitor, Mr. Johnson, on the ABC sitcom. The 71-year-old actor took to Instagram to share a residual check from a series he had been on, pointing out to his followers that the check was only for a mere five cents.
"Can you believe that?" Davis wondered in the video. "Everything costs more than that. This is why we're on strike. On strike for better wages, for better residuals, for peace of the subscription, and not to give into A.I. I stand in solidarity with the writers," as they are on strike until they get what they need. Davis also wrote in his caption that he stands "strong with our union as we fight for what's our and for the success of the future generations."
William Stanford Davis didn't reveal what show it was that he received the five-cent residual check for so it's unknown if it's for the Emmy-winning series, but it just proves that no matter the series, actors are definitely not getting paid enough. Plenty of actors and writers have been joining the fight, not only for themselves and their fellow actors and writers but also for those who will come after them. A lot of actors have also been revealing their residual checks, and some haven't received residuals at all, which is even worse.
As of now, there is no end in sight for either strike. More actors and writers are taking to the picket lines to directly picket major studios, and while it's been mostly serious, Dylan McDermott and Dermot Mulroney did recently trade names while doing so to at least have a little fun while fighting for better pay, and no A.I. technology. Meanwhile, others are continuing to confess how much they make in residuals, such as some Nickelodeon alums claiming they haven't received any residuals. Lucifer star D.B. Woodside informed his followers on the grievance actors have with studios when it comes to relocating for shows and much more.
It's clear that studios will have to do a lot more in order to make things right with actors and writers, and hopefully, everything will come to a resolution soon. Networks have been reworking their fall schedules since, aside from independently produced projects, nothing is being filmed. Whether that continues for midseason is unknown, so we'll just have to wait and see and hope that this doesn't last much longer.