SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Mark Christopher Lawrence is normally on the big screen, appearing in everything from network TV shows to streaming dramas.
But the San Diego resident is now spending a lot of his days at a coffee shop looking for other work online.
“These past few months, I mean, it's been tough,” Lawrence, 59, said.
He’s one of thousands of SAG-AFTRA actors on strike fighting for better pay and rules that govern the use of artificial intelligence.
The actors are striking along with thousands of members of the Writers Guild of America, who first hit the picket lines back in May.
Lawrence is also a comedian and is trying to book shows to make up revenue from two movies he was supposed to have a lead role in over the summer.
“Laughing to keep them crying, and two, it keeps some of the bills paid,” he said.
It’s not just actors and writers who are without a paycheck right now.
The Hollywood strikes had a ripple effect on the film and TV industry, leaving everyone from photographers to executive assistants without work.
“If you really think about it, it's kind of like an assembly line and really a lot of projects always start with the writers,” said Chris Mavry, who was recently laid off from his job as an assistant at a Hollywood production house.
Mavry, 33, said his income was cut in half after he got laid off. He was commuting weekly from San Diego to Los Angeles and is now doing brand work for companies as the chief creative officer of Micheaux Media.
“The idiom in Hollywood is like 'You're invited to the party until you're asked to leave,'” Mavry said.
Mavry works out of the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation. The community hub has a media studio and mentors for up-and-coming talent.
For Mavry, it’s a free place to work out of and build his business, which started as a side hustle to his Hollywood day job.
“Now it’s my full-time job,” he said with a laugh.
