BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Tom Arnold thinks actors should "shut up."

Wow, there's irony afoot, huh?

Arnold was talking about the current labour uncertainty in Hollywood that exists partly because there are two competing actors' unions. He suggested the on-screen people, no matter how famous they are, should quit squawking.

"I wish the actors would just shut up," Arnold said. "Especially if you're filming in Rome and (commenting on) what's going on here."

Arnold quickly qualified his comments for comic effect.

"And that's not a slam on Tom Hanks, because I'm in his movie," Arnold said. "I love him."

Here's the labour situation in a nutshell:

There are two main unions representing actors -- the big one, SAG, and the smaller one, AFTRA -- which used to be affiliated but aren't any more. Their old contracts with the studios ran out on June 30.

It was announced late Tuesday that the members of AFTRA have ratified a new contract (62% approval), but it was a contract that some members of SAG had been urging AFTRA members to reject.

Meanwhile, Hanks and others have urged SAG to accept the same basic framework of the AFTRA deal. That has led to both praise and criticism for Hanks, with some considering him to be far more of a producer now than an actor.

The next development could come as early as today. SAG -- with the AFTRA deal freshly ringing in its ears -- is expected to respond to the so-called "final" contract offer that was made by the studios.

"I just want to say there's not going to be a strike, but we've got to let people do what they're doing," Arnold said. "I used to work at Hormel (Foods). That's a real union. If you saw the movie American Dream that Barbara Kopple made, that was about my meat-packing plant and what really happens.

"You know, with two unions, when actors start getting involved and taking sides and giving opinions, just let these guys work it all out. They're going to work it all out. Nobody wants a strike."

Arnold, who first came to fame as the husband of Roseanne Barr but has extended his acting career far longer than most people thought he would, was on hand at the Television Critics Association tour to talk about a Hallmark Channel made-for-TV movie titled Moonlight & Mistletoe. Besides Arnold, Moonlight & Mistletoe also stars former child star Candace Cameron Bure (Full House), who now is married to former NHL player Valeri Bure.

As well, Arnold has signed on to host the second season of the CMT series My Big Redneck Wedding.

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