Streep and Clooney Lead Donation Campaign for Striking Actors

Hollywood actors have now been on strike for nearly three weeks. They have walked picket lines in broiling heat, orchestrated noisy rallies and flooded social media with cris de coeur. Harrison Ford’s stunt double lit himself on fire (safely) at a protest in Georgia. The president of the actors’ union, Fran Drescher, spoke on Tuesday about “greed-driven” studios at a New York City Council meeting.

But some people have been puzzled about one missing element. As Variety, the entertainment trade magazine, put it in a July 24 headline, “Why Haven’t A-List Stars Joined the SAG-AFTRA Picket Line?”

As it turns out, some megastars — Meryl Streep and George Clooney, in particular — have contributed in a different way.

The SAG-AFTRA Foundation, a charity that provides financial assistance to workaday performers, said on Wednesday that Ms. Streep and Mr. Clooney had helped lead a donation campaign that had raised more than $15 million over the last three weeks. The pair each gave $1 million and then started to lobby Hollywood’s other top-earning stars for contributions. A Google Doc was created to keep track of who was leaning on whom.

Eight more stars (Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hugh Jackman, Dwayne Johnson, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Oprah Winfrey) gave $1 million or more, along with two star couples: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck and Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.

“I remember my days as a waiter, cleaner, typist, even my time on the unemployment line,” Ms. Streep said in a statement. “In this strike action, I am lucky to be able to support those who will struggle in a long action to sustain against Goliath.”