As AI makes its way into movies, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland is fighting for actors’ rights

The former prosecutor has become one of Hollywood’s most influential behind-the-scenes players since joining the SAG-AFTRA union in 2000.

After years of advocating for actors’ collective rights, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland is finally getting his own close-up. Now executive director of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Crabtree-Ireland has come a long way from his early days as a Los Angeles County prosecutor, transforming himself into one of Hollywood’s most influential behind-the-scenes players since joining the union in 2000. Now, as he leads 160,000 members across an ever-expanding entertainment landscape, he faces perhaps his biggest challenge yet: the rise of AI.