Actors Join WGA Strikers For Rally Outside Of Universal

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (November 13, 2007) - A huge crowd of well-known actors gathered with striking Writers Guild of America union members outside of the gates of Universal's studio lot Tuesday afternoon in support of the ongoing writers strike.

It was certainly the most celebrity-filled demonstration to date since the WGA strike began on November 5. While the celeb presence was strong, the numbers did not appear to be quite as large as the 4,000 strong rally outside of the Fox lot last Friday.

[ Actors Join The WGA On Strike (11/13/07) - View the gallery ]

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, star of "The New Adventures Of Old Christine" on CBS, which has shut down production completely, acknowledged that Tuesday's event was the most high-profile yet in terms of star wattage. "It feels a little Red Carpet-y (today), if you ask me, " she told Access. "There are a lot of cameras this time, and I guess that's good because it's raising awareness of what the writers are up against."

"It's mad crazy energy out here today," said Neil Patrick Harris, her CBS network-mate and co-star of "How I Met Your Mother."

"It's uniformly foolish to pretend that the Internet and downloads aren't going to completely change the face of how our shows get watched. Nobody disagrees with that," Harris added.

[ Stars Show Support For Writers Strike - View the gallery ]

Danny Pino of "Cold Case," who was out alongside co-stars Tracie Thoms and Jeremy Ratchford, wasn't only out there to support the writers, but also the crew members who are indirectly impacted by the strike. "That's why our cast is out here supporting today. There's a faceless majority a voiceless majority that consists of crew members, that have no choice but to lose their jobs and health benefits," Pino said. "Hopefully, we can help nudge both sides back to the table, and encourage everyone to negotiate, to end this as soon as possible."

"It has to be resolved, period," Thoms chimed in. "More people's livelihoods and their homes are going to be lost."

The "Cold Case" cast pointed out that almost all of their writers and two of their Showrunners were out today supporting the strike.

"These are our friends and our co-workers," Andrea Bowen of "Desperate Housewives" (whose cast had the largest presence at the rally) told Access. "The actors are affected by the same things the writers are, so we feel equally impassioned about all of it."

Bowen pointed out that almost all of the writers from "Desperate Housewives" were out Tuesday afternoon.

One of the main issues that actors were talking about on Tuesday was how the WGA strike could affect the Screen Actors Guild's own negotiations, which are coming up in June 2008.

"If they (the WGA) can reach a negotiation, it'll be better for the actors as well," Bowen said.

"I think we'll have a better understanding of what the topography of a strike looks like for when SAG comes up to bat," Pino added.

Other stars seen by Access at Tuesday afternoon's rally included: Nicolette Sheridan, James Denton, Felicity Huffman, & Doug Savant (all of "Desperate Housewives"), Matthew Fox ("Lost"), Marg Helgenberger ("CSI"), John Cho ("24"), Seth Green, Jason Alexander ("Seinfeld"), Katherine Heigl ("Grey's Anatomy"), Ben Stiller, Camryn Manheim, Kate Flannery & Leslie David Baker ("The Office"), Jason Ritter, Patricia Heaton ("Back To You") & Ray Romano, Kathy Nijimy, Brad Garrett ("'Til Death"), Kathy Griffin, Bill Paxton & Jon Cryer ("Two And A Half Men").