Colton Little, the 37-year-old actor known for his recurring role as Andrew Donovan on the Peacock soap opera Days of Our Lives, says he is allegedly set to lose his SAG-AFTRA membership after falling roughly $2,000 behind on union fees. Little laid out his situation in an Instagram video posted Saturday, Oct. 31, showing what he described as a union email informing him his membership was scheduled to terminate the following day over an outstanding balance.
According to USA TODAY, Little said he has been a recurring character on a major TV show for the past four years and has acted professionally for about 15 years. He attributed his financial hardship to a shrinking Hollywood job market, pointing to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the dual 2023 SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild strikes, and what he called the imminent threat of artificial intelligence replacing jobs. Little also said there are no parts and nothing is currently filming in Los Angeles, and that he has chosen not to pay his dues while weighing his next career move.
The timing lines up with SAG-AFTRA's own account of its enforcement calendar. The union says it resumed regular membership rules and dues enforcement on Nov. 1, 2026, after suspending membership terminations for delinquent members during the pandemic and the subsequent strikes. Per the union, affected members had until Oct. 31, 2026 — the same date Little posted his video — to bring their accounts current, after being given 12 months to do so.
What SAG-AFTRA's Own Rules Say About Delinquent Dues
SAG-AFTRA's published guidance on maintaining membership states that a delinquent member may not be cleared for work, and that failure to pay percentage dues will result in termination from membership. The union notes that a member who is not actively seeking employment under its jurisdiction, and who has been a member for at least 18 months, may request inactive status instead. Under union policy, membership is automatically terminated after 18 months of not being in good standing because of unpaid dues, assessments, fines or administrative fees.
The union's annual base dues currently sit at $246.14, with work dues set at 1.575% of individual earnings under SAG or AFTRA contracts, USA TODAY's report notes. SAG-AFTRA has also said that a terminated member may apply to rejoin after paying past-due obligations, without having to meet new membership eligibility qualifications, and that members facing financial hardship may petition the union's Reinstatement Obligations Review Committee for an individualized review. The union said its National Board approved a Member Assistance Program in November 2025 for members approaching termination, offering installment plans and self-directed payment schedules. USA TODAY said it had reached out to SAG-AFTRA for comment on Little's case.
A Shrinking Los Angeles Production Market
Little's complaint about a lack of work in Los Angeles arrives against a backdrop of documented production decline. Deadline reported that on-location filming in the Los Angeles area accounted for 4,171 shoot days from July through September 2026, a 4.8% decrease from the same period last year. That follows a steeper slide documented by the Los Angeles Times, which found that the region logged 19,694 film and television shoot days in 2025 — down 16.1% from 23,480 in 2024 and the lowest total since 2020.
The Los Angeles Times attributed the decline in part to production moving to other states and countries, lingering pandemic effects, the 2023 writers' and actors' strikes, and studio spending cutbacks, adding that the drop has left many Hollywood workers without jobs for months or even years. A separate Times report found that only about 14% of SAG-AFTRA's 160,000 members qualify for the union's healthcare coverage.
Other Actors Describe Similar Struggles
Little is not the only performer to go public with frustration over SAG-AFTRA's eligibility thresholds. Actor Drake Bell said he had worked steadily for 35 years but still did not qualify for SAG-AFTRA health insurance, according to a notice cited by Deadline stating his reported covered earnings from July 2025 through June 2026 did not meet minimum eligibility requirements. Bell publicly criticized the union and advised people not to become actors or join SAG-AFTRA.
Actor Cheyenne Jackson said he came up several thousand dollars short of the roughly $28,000 annual earnings minimum needed for SAG-AFTRA healthcare and feared losing coverage for his family, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin has acknowledged the strain, telling members that declining job opportunities have made it harder to pay dues and qualify for the guild's health plan, according to TheWrap.
For his part, Little said he will prioritize himself unless the right opportunity comes along, framing his decision not to pay his dues as a response to an industry that has left him and others squeezed between rising costs and a shrinking supply of work.
