Cheyenne Jackson began posting headshots and short biographies of union members on his Instagram feed on Monday. All of them are a few hundred or a few thousand dollars short of qualifying for SAG-AFTRA health insurance, and Jackson said hundreds of actors asked to be featured within a day.
Jackson, 51, who appeared in 30 Rock, Glee and American Horror Story, told The Hollywood Reporter that in 2025 he finished $6,000 short of the roughly $28,000 in annual earnings the plan requires. Coverage for his husband and their twins was at stake.
He called Kathy Bates, a friend and former co-star, and asked for work on her series Matlock. Bates rang back within minutes with a five-line part as an unnamed detective, Jackson said. He searched a crime scene and delivered one line about blood.
In the Instagram post that opened the series, Jackson wrote that he knew "what it feels like to be one job away" and that he wanted to spotlight colleagues close to the threshold. Casting directors and producers, he added, might find their next hire among the faces he shares.
Variety reported that 22 profiles had gone up in the first day, among them Juston Graber, $198.48 short of the minimum, and Miho Saito, short by $402. Independent Spirit Award nominee Trace Lysette and Jai Rodriguez, an original host of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, were also included. The Independent reported that Jamie Lee Curtis was among the actors who shared the posts.
"This is systematic. This is like across the whole swath of SAG actors working right now," Jackson told The Hollywood Reporter, describing established series leads now hunting for a single guest spot.
He told Variety that residuals do little to help, because much of that income does not count toward the union's earnings test. "You're essentially starting over every year," he said.
Under the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan eligibility rules, members qualify with $28,933 in covered earnings during the assessment period, or with 108 qualifying work days. Either route brings 12 months of coverage. Jackson said he drew inspiration from Angela Lansbury, who hired older actors short of their insurance as guest stars on Murder, She Wrote.
The campaign follows other actors who have spoken publicly about losing or nearly losing coverage. Drake Bell said this month that he had been refused coverage after earning $17,480.53, as GlobeTV reported. Jack Haven, known for Atypical and I Saw the TV Glow, said in a September video that they needed $4,000 by the end of that month to keep insurance from January.
The Independent said it had asked SAG-AFTRA for comment.