Florence Pugh was among the stars who staged a walk-out from the London premiere of Oppenheimer to ‘write their picket signs’ ahead of the Sag-Aftra strike announcement yesterday evening.

The Oxford born actress stars alongside Robert Downey Jr, Sir Kenneth Branagh and Rami Malek in Christopher Nolan’s new historical epic.

The film’s premiere was brought forward by an hour ahead of a Sag-Aftra press conference in Los Angeles, which later declared the US union had agreed to strike.

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The anticipated announcement cast a shadow over the London film premiere at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square, with Ms Pugh and other stars not in attendance for the screening of the film.

The British actress explained that the cast felt lucky to have got to the Oppenheimer premiere before the strike was announced but also lucky to be standing in solidarity with their acting peers.

She said: “It’s been a really, really tense few days for a lot of people, not just actors but everybody in the industry who are going to be affected by this decision but affected by a decision that is necessary.

Oxford Mail:

“Equally, premieres aren’t just for us, they are to honour a movie, they are to honour a crew that made them so we feel both lucky, that we got to squeeze this in, and also lucky that we get to stand by our peers in a decision that is made.

“We hope that something comes of it soon.”

Speaking on the red carpet, Sir Kenneth added: “Everybody is working very hard to make sure it doesn’t happen, if it happens I stand in solidarity with our Sag members.

“We know it is a critical time at this point in the industry and the issues need to be addressed, difficult conversations.

"I know everybody is trying to get a fair deal, that is what’s required so we’ll support that.”

The strike news comes after the US union and Hollywood studios failed to reach an agreement after more than four weeks of negotiations, with actors wanting better pay and increased safeguarding around AI rights among their demands.

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Last month Sag-Aftra members voted overwhelmingly to authorise a strike if a new contract with major studios, streamers and production companies could not be reached.

Nearly 98 per cent (97.91 per cent) of the 65,000 members who cast votes were in favour, Sag-Aftra said.

Among the productions in the UK that could be affected by the strike action is Deadpool 3, starring Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman who were both recently pictured suited up for filming.