10 Things You Didn’t Know Actors Were BANNED From Doing
3. Actors Were Told Not To Wear Certain Halloween Costumes During The Recent Strike
It simply would not be Halloween without the sight of many a movie lover wandering around town dressed as their favourite superheroes, villains, or other unmistakable big-screen personalities.
However, with last year's spooky season falling right in the middle of the SAG-AFTRA actor's strike, that union opted to throw out a pretty unexpected rule heading into Halloween.
As said union continued to engage in contract negotiations with Hollywood studios and streaming services, SAG-AFTRA sent out some guidance for what their members should probably look to wear during their Trick or Treating sessions in 2023.
Dressing up as “characters from non-struck content” or “generalized characters and figures (ghost, zombie, spider, etc)" was the recommended option for the actors sitting within SAG-AFTRA (via BBC). Meaning these stars were pretty much being told not to go full Ken, Barbie or Oppenheimer come October 31st, as the guidance added:
"Let's use our collective power to send a loud and clear message to our struck employers that we will not promote their content without a fair contract!"
I look forward to screaming “scab” at my 8 year old all night. She’s not in the union but she needs to learn
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) October 19, 2023
But it wasn't long before a number of performers took aim at this controversial guidance online, with Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds even comically posting on X that he would be sure to scream the word "scab" - a term used to attack those who break the rules of a strike - at his young daughter, adding that "she’s not in the union but she needs to learn."
In the wake of both parties finally reaching an agreement, though, these stars can now very much dust off their pink cowboy hats and supersuits in a few months time.