Cheyenne Jackson's 'One Job Away' series spotlights actors near losing SAG-AFTRA insurance
Actor Cheyenne Jackson has begun posting profiles of actors who are close to missing the earnings threshold for SAG-AFTRA health insurance, hoping to connect them with casting directors and producers. It comes as several actors have spoken publicly about losing or nearly losing coverage.
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The story, neutrally told
Left · 2Actor Cheyenne Jackson, known for 30 Rock, Glee and American Horror Story, has launched an Instagram series called "One Job Away" to spotlight actors who are close to qualifying for SAG-AFTRA health insurance and could use one more booking. The IndependentLC “So I’m starting a little series called ONE JOB AWAY, spotlighting fellow actors who are close to qualifying for their SAG health insurance and could use a little help with that next booking.” Read at The Independent ↗ VarietyLC “he’s posting headshots and bios on his Instagram feed of actors who are on the verge of losing their SAG-AFTRA health insurance.” Read at Variety ↗ Left · 2Jackson says he was himself close to losing coverage last year because he fell short of the qualifying annual minimum of about $28,000 in earnings; the Independent says he was $6,000 short. VarietyLC “he was close to losing his SAG-AFTRA health insurance because he didn’t meet the qualifying annual minimum of about $28,000 in earnings.” Read at Variety ↗ The IndependentLC “last year he found himself $6,000 short of meeting the $28,000 annual threshold” Read at The Independent ↗ Left · 2Jackson says his friend Kathy Bates got him a small role, five lines as an unnamed detective, on her series Matlock, which let him qualify; the insurance also covers his husband and their two kids. VarietyLC “The good news is, I got you a role on “Matlock.” The bad news is, you have five lines and you don’t have a name,” Read at Variety ↗ The IndependentLC “Kathy Bates helped me qualify for my SAG-AFTRA health insurance by helping me get 5 lines on an episode of Matlock” Read at The Independent ↗
Left · 1In his post, Jackson invited casting directors and producers to consider hiring the featured actors, and asked actors to DM him their details if they want to be featured. The IndependentLC “Casting directors, producers, friends making things… maybe your next hire is someone you meet here. Actors… DM me your info if you want to be featured.” Read at The Independent ↗ Left · 2Jackson has so far posted 22 actor profiles. Those featured include Juston Graber, who is $198.48 short, Miho Saito, who is $402 short, Trace Lysette, Jai Rodriguez and Daniel Franzese. VarietyLC “Among the 22 headshots Jackson has posted is Juston Graber, who is just $198.48 shy of qualifying for SAG-AFTRA insurance.” Read at Variety ↗ The IndependentLC “Jackson has posted 22 actor profiles on his Instagram feed” Read at The Independent ↗ Left · 1Variety reports that Jackson, who has 741,000 Instagram followers, received "hundreds" of submissions in under 24 hours, and that Jamie Lee Curtis reposted some of the posts to her 6.7 million followers. VarietyLC “With 741,000 Instagram followers, Jackson says he has received “hundreds” of submissions in less than 24 hours.”“Jamie Lee Curtis has reposted some of Jackson’s “One Job Away” posts to her 6.7 million Instagram followers.” Read at Variety ↗
Left · 1Jackson told Variety that the larger issue is how residuals and SAG-AFTRA's rules work: earnings in one year, even $500,000, do not carry over to the next year's health insurance minimum, and fewer, lower-paid jobs leave veteran actors scrambling for guest spots. VarietyLC “An actor can make $500,000 one year, but when they don’t make much the next year, the $500,000 doesn’t help with the following year’s health insurance minimum.” Read at Variety ↗ Left · 1Jackson said he is not criticising SAG-AFTRA leadership, saying "I don’t want to play a blame game" but wants a broader conversation because "clearly the system is not working right now." VarietyLC ““I don’t want to play a blame game,” he says.” Read at Variety ↗ Left · 1Other actors have recently spoken about the same problem. Drake Bell posted on 13 October a screenshot of the SAG-AFTRA health plan site saying he had not qualified, showing $17,480.53 earned and $11,452.47 still needed to reach $28,933, and told people not to become actors or join SAG. VarietyLC “The webpage says that Bell has earned $17,480.53 and that he needs $11,452.47 more to qualify by reaching the $28,933 required for the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan.” Read at Variety ↗
Left · 2In September, Jack Haven (Atypical) said in a video that they needed to make $4,000 by the end of the month to qualify for coverage starting in January, and Heather Matarazzo also said she would not qualify without more work soon. The IndependentLC “I need to make $4,000 by the end of the month in order to qualify for SAG health insurance starting in January.” Read at The Independent ↗ VarietyLC “In September, “Atypical” actor Jack Haven and “Princess Diaries” star Heather Matarazzo both revealed that they wouldn’t qualify for health insurance if they didn’t get more work soon.” Read at Variety ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left3 outlets
- Framing
- Both left-leaning outlets present the campaign as a sympathetic, celebrity-led effort to help working actors, set against a wider pattern of actors struggling to keep union insurance.
- Emphasis
- Variety stresses Jackson's interview and his structural critique of residuals and the earnings rules; The Independent stresses the viral nature of the campaign and quotes his Instagram post.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither carries a response from SAG-AFTRA or its health plan, and neither explains how the plan's eligibility rules are set.
- Charged language
- “The System Is Not Working”“Viral”
- For example
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“clearly the system is not working right now.” — Variety
“A viral social media campaign is seeking to help actors who are at risk of missing out on medical insurance.” — The Independent
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Cheyenne Jackson started the 'One Job Away' Instagram series.
- Jackson was about $6,000 short of the roughly $28,000 qualifying threshold last year and was helped by Kathy Bates with a small Matlock role.
- Jackson has posted 22 actor profiles, and Jamie Lee Curtis has shared the posts.
- Jack Haven recently said they were at risk of not qualifying for SAG health insurance.
Cheyenne Jackson person
Presents the series as paying forward the help he received from Kathy Bates, and as a way to start a bigger conversation about how residuals and union eligibility work, without blaming SAG-AFTRA leadership.
“What I do want to do is start engaging in a bigger conversation because clearly the system is not working right now.” — Variety
“I know what it feels like to be one job away… and what it means when someone actually comes through.” — The Independent
Left3 articles
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Sympathetic Interview-driven column that lets Jackson explain the campaign and the problems with residuals and eligibility, adding the Drake Bell example.
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Viral ‘One Job Away’ campaign aims to help actors struggling to qualify for health insurance
Sympathetic Reports the campaign as a viral effort, leaning on Jackson's Instagram post and the Jack Haven plea for context.
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Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 26 Oct 18:52 First VarietyLC Actors on the Verge of Losing SAG-AFTRA Health Insurance Find Support via ‘One Job Away’ Instagram Campaign: ‘The System Is Not Working’
- 26 Oct 20:52 +1h 59m The IndependentLC Viral ‘One Job Away’ campaign aims to help actors struggling to qualify for health insurance
- 26 Oct 22:28 +3h 35m The Hollywood ReporterLC ‘One Job Away’ Campaign Highlights SAG-AFTRA Actors’ Struggle to Qualify for Health Insurance: “This Is Systemic”
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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