Jeff Goldblum Helps Actors Qualify for Health Insurance While Guest Hosting ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

Jeff Goldblum helped actors qualify for SAG-AFTRA health insurance while guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday, casting actors in need of more work to meet the covered earnings minimum requirements.

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“The vast majority of actors are working-class people just trying to make ends meet,” Goldblum told his audience Thursday. “They actually have to make a certain amount of money each year just to qualify for health coverage through the Screen Actors Guild, and that’s not an easy thing to do. Sometimes an actor can be so close to that threshold of earnings that they only need to land one more role to qualify. So tonight, I’m going to help a few actors who are in that very situation for real by casting them in a role on the show.”

Goldblum then enlisted actors who were all around $500 away from qualifying for health insurance to play himself — each actor, dressed in a suit reminiscent of Goldblum’s, offered their best impression of the comedian.

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In 2024, SAG-AFTRA performers must typically make at least $27,000 in covered earnings or work at least 104 days over the course of 12 months to qualify for health insurance coverage. In 2023 (prior to the union’s strike) around 25,000 union members out of about 160,000 met the requirements. Actors who appeared on the show Thursday told Goldblum they’d be using the insurance for things like a dermatologist’s skin check and a root canal.

Thursday was the second time Jimmy Kimmel Live! has cast actors based on insurance need. The first happened two years ago, when Kerry Washington served as guest host.

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