After Hollywood, actors from the British industry have voiced opposition to the $111 billion mega-merger deal between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.
They are Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming and Benedict Wong, who are urging the U.K. government to block the union.
Together, the trio penned an op-ed in the Guardian, with the headline, A TV and cinema calamity could be disastrous for what you watch and what you know. Act now to stop that.
In the piece, the famed Marvel actors and Cumming argue the merger threatens to inflict “immense harm on the British public.”
The men continued, “As actors and public figures who have spent our careers in the arts in Britain — working with British crews, on British stages and sets — we have a responsibility to the public who support, enjoy and consume the art we make.”
“The U.K. is being threatened by a media merger that would harm our workers, our culture and the public — but we can stop it,” the actors said, claiming the merger would strike a death knell to nearly 180,000 jobs in the U.K. industry as well as putting annual £6.8 billion production spending at risk.
The stars, meanwhile, also mention a recent statement by U.K. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who indicated she may intervene.
“The fight against this merger now runs on two fronts, and Nandy commands one of them. Should her department decide to intervene, it may prove one of the most important decisions any culture secretary has taken for U.K. film, television and media in a generation,” they stated.
In the end, Cumberbatch, Wong, and Cumming wrote, “Actors are often told to stay out of legal arguments.”
However, they penned, “But we’ve spent our lives working alongside U.K. crews and watching brilliant British stories struggle to find a buyer. This is our fight too.”

