Brooke Shields was elected president of Actors’ Equity in late May, and now heads the union of more than 51,000 actors and stage managers on Broadway and nationwide.
It’s the first union role for the longtime actress, who is largely known for her on-screen roles, but has also appeared five times on Broadway.
Now, a few months in, Shields spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about why she chose to add the role, an unpaid, volunteer position, into the mix of her busy life, which includes a new business, new book and acting gigs, and her priorities for her four-year term.
How’s it going so far?
It’s going extremely well. It’s a huge learning curve. Everyone involved has been extremely helpful in giving me background and support so that nothing is falling through the cracks. Just constantly, I’m reminded about the importance of not just the union and all of its members, but how we operate. I’ve just been really impressed with why people are members and on [Actors’ Equity’s National] council and on staff, and when you get down to the real essence of what everybody’s here for, it just reinvigorates what I believe the mentality and what us as a union means in the bigger picture.
What was your rationale for running?
Mine goes back to having been a member for decades. The support and the resources that were personally provided for me by the ensemble, by stage management, when I first came to Broadway — they were all my lifeline. And I was coming in from a very different place, and having never had the experience on Broadway, and needing the support of those around me, and really feeling that every single one of those people that I was on stage with or was back of house, front of house, every single person was what allowed me to do my job and get out there every night.
Was there a particular moment or person who inspired you to run?
It wasn’t so much a lightning bolt moment, as it was a continuing conversation that I have with friends who are stage managers and ensemble friends from when I did Grease. These are friendships that have been constant in my life, and just the conversations and talking to them and seeing certain issues be talked about. The piece that I think was missing is we need access. We need direct access to like the [National] Press Club and have it be seen. And we need the messaging to be extended in a way that not just people across the bargaining table are aware, but the public are aware. I feel that one of the values of being someone who’s been in the public eye for as long as I have is there’s a resource there, and if it can be tapped into, then I have a value in getting messages across.
Did you get any advice from other union leaders or people in the space?
The funny thing is, I’ve been getting random messages that say things like, “Get ready,” “Hope you’re ready for all that it involves.” There’s been this sort of warning. Nobody really is offering me advice, and I don’t really need it, because it’s all within the members and Council because everybody that’s there has been there for years, and they’ve been fighting the good fight for years. I’m coming in, and they’re shepherding me through the information. And I think that when people caution that, they’re saying “This is a union, and there are going to be things that come up that are sort of unprecedented for you, for anybody.” What’s been so unbelievable to me is to watch the process and watch where we get hung up on process, and then, when you really ignite what the DNA of this union is, that, in and of itself, becomes very galvanizing.
Your role as a celebrity and union leader has also come up in comparison to Fran Drescher taking over the presidency at SAG-AFTRA. Did you think about that?
Not at all, to be honest. I think she’s great. I haven’t spoken to her about it. But I’ve stopped comparing myself to other people a long time ago, because it doesn’t have any value, and it doesn’t help me move forward at all. I did not have that in my mind. I thought it was an easy comparison for people to make. I didn’t feel one way or the other about it. I think she seems to have done well and done important work, and I hope that I can contribute.
How are you planning to balance this position with your acting career, and other businesses, including a new haircare line, an upcoming book and more?
It’s interesting, because I think any actor will tell you, there are years of inactivity all the while you’re trying to make something happen, and then all of a sudden, somehow it all happens at once. I feel lucky to be able to say that I’m good at managing my time. I’m good at delegating. I’m not here to micromanage. I trust people’s ability on staff to do what they do, and it’s about time management. And if you think about our brains, we don’t really use the full capacity. And I’m good at compartmentalizing, and I’m good at even delegating to my own self, as psychotic as it may sound.
What does that mean?
I have a list every day, and not everything is going to get finished, and that’s been a huge lesson for me. I like checking things off my list. It’s not possible when you’re writing a book, it’s not possible when you’re in this position that I’m in within a union. It’s like housework. It never gets finished. So you have to give yourself priorities and say, “OK we need to deal with this, or I need to get that.”
I’m developing another show. The film that I just did [Mother of the Bride] gave me the opportunity to have a very intense press schedule. It’s exhausting, but I know that each time I mentioned, not just the movie, but was able to go on the Today Show or GMA and say that I’m in this newly appointed position, it all works with each other.
I’m using all of these different areas of my life, but the through line is the same. I’m busy all the time. I don’t sleep a whole lot, but I don’t have my kids home anymore, and I love being busy. And all those years that were not that busy, that I was trying to become busy, which is just the way the wave works, and the ups and downs of being in this industry, it’s all here now, and I’m surprised at my continued capabilities of continuing to move the needle in every area.
But acting is still a priority for you?
Yes. I am, first and foremost, an actress. It’s been what I’ve done my whole life. It’s the fuel that ignites me. I go to sleep thinking about it. And what I’ve learned is that it’s where I begin, and because of it, I’m able to do these other things. And while I’m not acting, in between projects, which most of the time all of us always are, I’m finding other ways to be creative. It all works together, and it all is a big machine, and these are different spokes, but myself as the actor is at the center of it.
What are your priorities for Equity during your term?
Obviously, right now arts funding is a huge piece. And I’ll be going to D.C. to the Press Club [on Sept. 12].The Disney [land character workers’ unionization] of it all is a whole new piece that’s been being worked on for quite some time. We’re very proud, and we already have dates that are in October to meet with the employer and at the bargaining table. The performance arts tax parity act is really important, too. How do we get back to the period of time when above the line tax deductions were for our members, that somewhere along the line got lost? That’s important money that people need to live on.
And Actors’ Equity is currently on strike against developmental work produced by Broadway League members.
I came in right as it was happening. And you know that we’re ongoing with that, and we are in the process with it. I have faith, and a lot of these things are teaching me patience.
As you said, these issues had already been in the works as you entered the position. Do you have any personal priorities or new topics you want to bring to the union?
I can’t wait until I get to that point. There’s so much on the table now that needs resolving and needs pushing through. And I think every time I talk to another council member who has been working on something for 2,3,4 years, I learn one more thing that I think is equally important, and so I write it down, and I keep this whole list. So whether I come up with something new, I’d be very proud of myself. Right now, there’s so much on the table that needs and deserves attention.
Do you have a plan on how to stay up-to-date with the concerns of the everyday Equity member?
I’m trying to do it. I can’t be everywhere. So there are people that are doing this. Al [Vincent Jr, executive director of Actors’ Equity] is doing it. Other people are traveling. The day to day is what really interests me. That’s something that I would like to get a little bit more involved with. I would like to be able to listen more to what’s happening regionally and what the thinking is, and what the feeling is, and where they’re feeling not heard. I can’t be the one person that does it, so I’m having to rely on council to bring me back that information, and when I can, personally go talk to people.
While the fame helps, you’ve said you like that this job is not explicitly about you and your name. Can you expand on that?
It’s twofold. My name only goes so far, right? And that’s where we have to use it appropriately and in the right way. Going and speaking in D.C., that’s one of the ways we use it. But I’m not the most important piece of the whole picture. And when you’ve been in this precariously weird position to the rest of the world, for me, it’s always the most important when I am one piece of the whole team. When I was on Broadway, that’s where you see it more often than in any other medium. Because you may be a headliner, right? But the whole value is the entire company that does it every night and gets to work. You just happen to be on the zero spot on the stage.
This is a very good example of the feeling that I get by being a conduit to a bigger picture, a bigger reason, and then it also makes me not resent the pressures of being in the public eye, which is constant, and it sometimes can make you want to hibernate. But when you have something like the union to represent, I don’t resent it. I want to use it, and make it have a value. Because there’s really no point to it, in my opinion. There’s no value to it unless it’s being used for good.
This story appeared in the Sept. 4 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.