Founded in 1933, The Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) is the largest actor’s union representing over 120,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide. All professional actors (i.e. top actors, stars, celebrities) are a part of this union so this is the one union you have to be in if you’re gonna be considered a “professional” actor.
We advise you to not quite call yourself a pro until you join SAG. As an actor you’ll see that SAG’s main role is to lookout for you, the actor. They negotiate and enforce collective bargaining agreements that establish equitable levels of compensation, benefits, and working conditions for its performers; collect compensation for exploitation of recorded performances by its members, and provide protection against unauthorized use of those performances; and preserve and expand work opportunities for its members. SAG is huge. In addition to its main offices in Hollywood, SAG also maintains local branches in over 20 major US cities. For more info visit SAG.org.
