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Actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming, and Benedict Wong have published an opinion piece in The Guardian calling on the U.K. government to block the proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing the deal would cause significant harm to the British public.
The artists, known for roles in major film and television productions, said their years working alongside British crews on U.K. sets gave them standing to speak on the issue.
They cited risks to the livelihoods of film and television workers, independent film financing and the potential loss of public broadcaster Channel 5 to Hollywood ownership.
U.K. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who has remained in her post following a cabinet reshuffle under new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, has previously said she was considering intervening in the deal, valued at $111 billion.
The actors said they were encouraged by her statements and noted she was not acting alone. Twelve U.S. states, led by California, filed a federal lawsuit this month seeking to block the merger, arguing it would raise prices, reduce film output and lower the quality of content available to audiences.
Paramount has agreed not to close the deal until the court rules on the antitrust case.
The actors noted the European Union has conditionally approved the merger, adding that the UK's decision would run separately from the EU process.
They said the U.K. film and television industry supports around 180,000 jobs and generated 6.8 billion pounds in production spending last year.
The actors also raised concerns over industry consolidation, pointing to a decline of roughly half in independent film acquisitions at the Sundance Film Festival between 2019 and 2025.
They said award-winning documentaries have struggled to secure distribution because their subject matter was considered commercially inconvenient by a shrinking pool of buyers.
To manage an estimated $84 billion in Warner Bros. Discovery debt, executives have told investors they expect around $6 billion in cost savings from the merger, which the actors said would likely mean job losses and canceled productions.
They referenced past mergers, including the 2022 Discovery-WarnerMedia deal and last year's Skydance-Paramount merger, both of which resulted in significant layoffs and shelved projects.
The actors expressed particular concern over Paramount's planned acquisition of Channel 5 and CNN International, noting that CNN and CBS news archives together contain more than 4.25 million videos and images spanning nearly five decades.
They said combining the two news organizations under one owner could concentrate control over historical broadcast records and influence what audiences see.
The actors referenced reports that Paramount's chief executive told Donald Trump he would make significant changes to CNN if the deal proceeded.
The op-ed, titled "A TV and cinema calamity could be disastrous for what you watch and what you know. Act now to stop that," was published Monday.
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