“We, deaf actors, have come a long way,” the “CODA” star Marlee Matlin tells the audience. On the TV side, “Succession,” “Ted Lasso” and “Squid Game” won big.
And the winner is … the Screen Actors Guild?
After a topsy-turvy few months that saw the Golden Globes reduced to live-tweeting and the Critics Choice Awards delayed to March, the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday found itself in the unusual (and influential) position of being this Oscar season’s first televised show.
In a diffuse year when many of the acting awards still feel up for grabs, that could spell good news for Sunday’s high-profile honorees, who included Troy Kotsur, named outstanding supporting actor for “CODA,” Ariana DeBose, best supporting actress for “West Side Story,” and lead-acting winners Will Smith (“King Richard”) and Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”).
Many of those winners were overcome at the recognition from their guild. “I’ve been a member since 2001, and now I feel like part of the family,” said Kotsur, who recalled nights spent sleeping in his car and dressing room.
Smith, considered the Oscar front-runner, began tearing up when the show ran a clip from “King Richard,” in which he plays the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. “That may have been one of the greatest moments of my career just now,” Smith said, “because my name was called for ‘King Richard’ sitting next to Venus Williams.”
(On the television side, “Succession” and “Ted Lasso” won top cast honors, while Lee Jung-jae and HoYeon Jung of “Squid Game” took lead performer honors.)
Though the SAG Awards are considered among the more important Oscar precursors, recent winners have sometimes diverged from precedent. Both of the lead actors who took SAG Awards last year — Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis from “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” — lost the Oscar. And of this year’s SAG races, only one category — best actor — matched Oscar’s picks five for five. In the supporting categories, the overlap was much slimmer, and only two of the five SAG nominees also received Oscar nominations.
Still, the four SAG film winners are all contending for an Oscar, as is “CODA,” a film about a deaf family and its hearing daughter that is nominated for best picture. “You are all our peers,” signed the cast member Marlee Marlin upon accepting the best-ensemble award. “We, deaf actors, have come a long way.”
Here is a complete list of winners:
Movies
Outstanding Cast
Actor in a Leading Role
Will Smith, “King Richard”
Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
Actor in a Supporting Role
Troy Kotsur, “CODA”
Actress in a Supporting Role
Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”
Stunt Ensemble in a Movie
“No Time to Die”
Television
Ensemble in a Drama Series
“Succession”
Actor in a Drama Series
Lee Jung-jae, “Squid Game”
Actress in a Drama Series
HoYeon Jung, “Squid Game”
Ensemble in a Comedy Series
“Ted Lasso”
Actor in a Comedy Series
Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”
Actress in a Comedy Series
Jean Smart, “Hacks”
Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series
Michael Keaton, “Dopesick”
Actress in a TV movie or limited series
Kate Winslet, “Mare of Easttown”
Stunt Ensemble in a TV Series
“Squid Game”
