Cheyenne Jackson has acted in more than 40 television series, including “Imperfect Women,” “American Horror Story,” “Call Me Kat,” “Glee” and “30 Rock,” as well as several movies.
But last year, 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. The insurance also covers his husband, Jason and their two kids.
“I was one gig short of getting my insurance,” Jackson tells me. “We really rely on the SAG insurance. It’s really good.”
He reached out to his friend, “Matlock” star Kathy Bates. He needed to make $6,000.
“I called her, and I was like, ‘Listen, I’m in trouble and I could really use your help. Is there anything I could do on “Matlock”?’” Jackson recalls. “She’s like, ‘Give me a second. Just give me a minute.’”
Bates called him back in less than five minutes. “She’s like, ‘I have good news and bad news for you. 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,’” Jackson says. “I was like, ‘Sign me up! No ego amigo here.’ I played no-name detective. I searched a crime scene and I said, ‘Hey, Sergeant, we got some blood over here.’”
Jackson is now paying it forward by launching the “One Job Away” initiative. Started just yesterday, he’s posting headshots and bios on his Instagram feed of actors who are on the verge of losing their SAG-AFTRA health insurance.
With 741,000 Instagram followers, Jackson says he has received “hundreds” of submissions in less than 24 hours. “The bigger conversation is just the way that residuals and SAG are set up,” Jackson says. “I make OK money on residuals, but a lot of that residual does not go toward your SAG dues. You’re essentially starting over every year.”
In other words, Jackson says, “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.”
He continues, “Journeyman actors and major people who have been the leads of several shows and who have been around for years and years, all of a sudden are, because there are so many fewer jobs and the pay is so much lower, now scrambling for one little guest spot to try to keep their insurance.”
Among the 22 headshots Jackson has posted is Juston Graber, who is just $198.48 shy of qualifying for SAG-AFTRA insurance. Miho Saito is only short $402. Others include Independent Spirit Award nominee Trace Lysette, original “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” star Jai Rodriguez and Daniel Franzese of “Mean Girls” fame.
Jamie Lee Curtis has reposted some of Jackson’s “One Job Away” posts to her 6.7 million Instagram followers.
Jackson isn’t calling out SAG-AFTRA leadership. “I don’t want to play a blame game,” he says. “What I do want to do is start engaging in a bigger conversation because clearly the system is not working right now.”
“Drake & Josh” actor Drake Bell recently blasted the union after finding out he did not qualify for its insurance.
On his Instagram Story on Oct. 13, Bell posted a screenshot of the SAG-AFTRA health plan website that says, “You do not qualify for Health Plan coverage at this time. Your reported covered earnings from July 2025-June 2026 did not meet minimum eligibility requirements, or you did not qualify other eligibility rules.”
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.
Bell wrote over the screenshot, “Do not become an actor. Do not join SAG. You can work for 35 years and they still say [middle finger emoji].”
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.
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