Actors in hugely successful US TV shows are demanding higher and higher pay cheques. But some have found that going on strike can be a bad move.

WHEN The Sopranos star James Gandolfini accepted his best actor trophy at American television's Emmy Awards last year, he offered special thanks to fellow actor Brad Garrett "for taking the heat off of me".

Like the man known as mobster Tony Soprano, Garrett had been embroiled in increasingly bitter salary battles. Gandolfini was grateful that the furore around his money negotiations had been overshadowed by Everybody Loves Raymond star Garrett's own pay wrangles.

Both actors had demanded more money. For their producers, it wasn't so much a case of can't pay, as won't pay. After Gandolfini decided they'd made an offer he could refuse, filming on the next series of The Sopranos was suspended. Garrett stayed away from the set of hit comedy Everybody Loves Raymond while his people negotiated. Eventually, in both cases, new deals were struck and Gandolfini and Garrett returned to work happy - and wealthier - men.

Two stars of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation are less happy this week after being sacked for not turning up to work as executives showed their determination to prove that no actor is bigger than the series.

George Eades and Jorga Fox were dumped by makers of America's number one drama after holding out for a pay rise. They failed to turn up for the first day of filming on the new series despite being under contract.

CBS called their bluff and gave them their marching orders, pointing out that contracts had been re-negotiated after the second year of the forensic crime drama and that more money was on the table for the fourth season.

Casting is underway for replacements. The gamble by Eades and Fox that they're indispensable hasn't paid off. Producers are confident that they're not big enough stars to be missed and harm the show's place as the US's top-rated show.

The actors' representatives believed producers could afford to pay more for their services. CSI - shown on five over here - is proving a licence to print money with two spin-offs, CSI: Miami and the upcoming CSI: New York in production. With profits on the US networks being squeezed, executives are unwilling to throw huge salaries around.

Gandolfini was in a stronger position than the CSI actors as The Sopranos without him is unimaginable. All the same, makers HBO postponed indefinitely filming on the fifth series following the breakdown of pay negotiations.

The actor's reps wanted his salary brought in line with other big TV stars, such as Frasier's Kelsey Grammer and NYPD Blue's Dennis Franz, earning around $1m an episode. HBO wouldn't go above $800,000, which would have doubled his paycheque.

The battle became increasingly personal and bitter as talks broke down and a war of words began. One official called him a "greedy pig". HBO's lawyers said it had arranged The Sopranos schedule when he wanted to make movies and had been tolerant of his personal problems during filming.

His spokesman replied: "It should be beneath them to treat one of their biggest stars, moneymakers and friends like this." The actor sued the network, claiming his contract was invalid. HBO filed a countersuit.

But it appears that everyone benefited as Gandolfini reportedly handed out a share of The Sopranos profits, part of the settlement, to his co-stars with series regulars being given five-figure cheques by the actor to endorse his view that the show's success lies in its ensemble cast.

After a month away from the set, Brad Garrett returned in exchange for a pay rise and a small stake in the comedy's profits from re-run sales. The Emmy award-winning actor had complained his pay was a fraction of that of the show's star, Ray Romano, who won a $1.8m per episode deal.

The best bargaining tool is to stick together, like the six regulars on Friends. By the final season, they were taking home $1.3m for each episode of the comedy show. That seems a lot of money until you learn that profits from the series can be as high as one billion dollars.

Little wonder that the stars feel hard done by, even if they're heard and not seen. The actors providing the voices for animated hit The Simpsons stopped work earlier this year over renewal of their three-year contracts. Trade paper Variety reported that each cast member was seeking $360,000 an episode, nearly trebling their pay. That followed a previous dispute in 1998, when they were receiving just $30,000 dollars an episode.

The four main supporting actors in award-winning The West Wing felt they were underpaid compared to the political drama's big name stars Martin Sheen and Rob Lowe. Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford and John Spencer effectively went on strike by abandoning rehearsals but then turning up for the first day of filming of the new series three years ago.

All four had received nominations in the Emmy awards, with Janney and Schiff winning. A new deal was struck but for less than the $100,000 an episode they were thought to be demanding.

They're still with the series, although Lowe quit several years later after he couldn't agree a new contract. He was written out, as was Suzanne Somers's character in Three's Company after demanding a pay hike from $35,000 to $150,000 an episode.

Whether Bishop Auckland-born actor Stephen Hancock deserved what he got in ITV's Coronation Street is debatable. When pay negotiations stalled, producers exacted sweet revenge - his character Ernie Bishop was written out permanently, blasted to death by armed raiders.

Published: 24/07/2004