Pro-Palestine march at the Venice Film Festival (2025)

Hollywood figures rally behind boycott of ‘Israeli’ film institutions

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Thousands of actors and directors, from Mark Ruffalo to Joaquin Phoenix, have pledged to boycott 'Israeli' film institutions over Gaza, here's who signed and what many of them have said.

Thousands of actors, directors and other film industry professionals have signed a pledge vowing not to work with ‘Israeli’ film institutions they say are "implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people."

The letter, organized by the group Film Workers for Palestine, was published in Sep. 2025 and spread through Hollywood at a striking pace: roughly 1,200 signatures in its first 48 hours, more than 4,000 within a week, and over 5,000 by the end of the month.

Here's a closer look at who signed, and what many of them have said about the issue beyond adding their name.

The most outspoken: Mark Ruffalo

No signatory has a longer public record on this than Ruffalo. He first weighed in on ‘Israeli’ military aggression back in 2014, criticizing strikes on a Gaza hospital.

Since Oct. 2023, he's worn an Artists4Ceasefire pin to the Oscars, co-signed a 2024 SAG-AFTRA letter urging the actors' union to publicly back a Gaza ceasefire, written a Los Angeles Times op-ed calling for a US arms embargo on ‘Israel’, and said in Sep. 2025 that he supports boycott, divestment and sanctions efforts.

In Aug. 2026, he found himself at the center of fresh controversy after publicly linking the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger to Oracle's ties with the ‘Israeli’ military, a comment that drew accusations of antisemitism from industry figures, which Ruffalo firmly disputed, saying his criticism was aimed at policy and corporate power, not Jewish people.

The accusation that I am antisemitic is appalling and fundamentally dishonest. Criticizing the actions of the Israeli prime minister, a military technology contract, or the executives who supply it is not the same as criticizing Jewish people. This critical and necessary dialogue…
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) August 22, 2026

The director who spoke from the Oscar stage: Jonathan Glazer

Jonathan Glazer, director of "The Zone of Interest" and one of the pledge's most notable signatories, is no stranger to controversy on this subject.

Accepting his 2024 Academy Award, Glazer, who is Jewish, argued from the stage that the Holocaust was being used to justify the occupation, a statement that triggered significant public debate at the time.

"Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people.”

In 2026, he stepped in to defend Ruffalo against the antisemitism accusations, arguing that Ruffalo has consistently paired criticism of antisemitism with advocacy for Palestinian rights and dignity.

Javier Bardem's ceasefire skepticism

Bardem joined Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon and other artists in an Oct. 2025 joint statement arguing that, despite the US-brokered truce announced that month, the reality on the ground in Gaza still did not amount to a genuine ceasefire.

At the Feb. 2026 Academy Awards, Bardem said on stage: "No to war and a free Palestine."⁠

Javier Bardem at the #Oscars: “No to war and Free Palestine!” pic.twitter.com/z00bfq2jXn
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) March 16, 2026

Hollywood couple for Palestine: Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara

Oscar-winning actors Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara have joined Palestinian filmmaker Tawfeek Barhom’s short film I’m Glad You’re Dead Now as executive producers.

The 13-minute drama, a co-production between Palestine, France and Greece, won the Short Film Palme d’Or at Cannes earlier this year and recently screened at Qatar’s Ajyal Film Festival.

Phoenix and Mara said they were drawn to the film’s themes of memory, trauma and reconciliation, while their involvement is expected to help expand its international reach.

The activist who was warned it would cost her work: Nicola Coughlan

Coughlan has one of the deepest individual track record on this issue.

The "Bridgerton" and "Derry Girls" star has been raising money for Palestinian aid organizations since mid-2024, when she launched an Instagram fundraiser for Medical Aid for Palestinians that grew into a campaign for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, eventually bringing in roughly $2 million.

She's repeatedly worn an Artists4Ceasefire pin at red-carpet events and on late-night television, including during the height of "Bridgerton" season three's press tour, when she used the spotlight to push followers toward ceasefire calls and donation links.

Filmmakers behind the campaign

Ava DuVernay, Yorgos Lanthimos, Asif Kapadia, Boots Riley and Joshua Oppenheimer were named among the pledge's core early backers from behind the camera, lending the campaign weight from across arthouse and studio filmmaking alike.

The rest of the original wave

Josh O'Connor, Cynthia Nixon, Julie Christie, Ilana Glazer, Rebecca Hall, Aimee Lou Wood and Debra Winger were part of the roughly 1,200 names attached to the pledge in its first days.

As with several names above, there's no individually reported statement beyond their signature.

As the list kept growing

As the pledge approached 4,000 signatures on Sep. 10, a number of prominent names had joined, including James Schamus, Peter Sarsgaard, Lily Gladstone, Harris Dickinson, Bowen Yang, Guy Pearce, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Fisher Stevens, Abbi Jacobson, Eric Andre, Elliot Page, Payal Kapadia and Emma D’Arcy.

By Sep. 25, the pledge had surpassed 5,000 signatures, with Andrew Garfield, Diego Luna, Laura Poitras and Toni Collette among the additional signatories.