Deaf family drama “CODA” has won top honors at a very unexpected 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards, which also saw wins for “Squid Game”, the cast of “Ted Lasso” and Will Smith.
Deaf family drama “CODA” has won top honors at a very unexpected 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards, which also saw wins for “Squid Game”, the cast of “Ted Lasso” and Will Smith.
A troubled, deaf family drama “CODA” took home top honors at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards in an unexpected and history-making manner, which also saw wins for the heads of the cast of “Ted Lasso” and Will Smith’s “Squid Game” .
The ceremony, held Sunday at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and airing on both TNT and TBS, was particularly boundary-breaking, with historic wins for deaf actors, Korean stars and some of Hollywood’s biggest names. It culminated with “CODA”, Sean Heder’s touching Apple TV+ coming-of-age film, featuring a trio of deaf actors in Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, and Daniel Durant as well as newcomer Emilia Jones in the best cast. Won the team award. The film has been seen as a pivotal moment for the deaf community in Hollywood.
“It confirms the fact that we, deaf actors, can act like anyone else. We look forward to more opportunities for deaf actors,” Matlin sign language to the crowd for “I love you.” Said on stage before teaching.
Matlin is the only deaf actor to win an Oscar, but his “Koda” co-star, Kotsur, could be in line to join him. Kotsur won the Best Supporting Actor award on Sunday, becoming the first deaf actor to win an individual SAG Award. When his name was read, the 53-year-old veteran actor put his head in his hands. On stage, he thanked his wife for “reminding me to check my fly before walking the red carpet.”
Netflix’s “Squid Game”, the first non-English language series nominated by the Actors Guild, went strong with three awards, including Lee Jung-jae for Best Male Actor in a Drama Series and Jung Hyeon for Best Female Actor in a Drama Series. Huh. , Those wins came on the likes of “Succession” stars Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong, and Reese Witherspoon and “The Morning Show”‘s Jennifer Aniston.
“I’ve seen you many times on the big screen dreaming of becoming an actor one day,” Jung told the crowd, battling in tears.
Still, HBO’s “Succession” eventually reigned in the best drama series category. Cox appropriately accepted the award with a stamp printed on her face mask, and another as she struggled to take it off. But Cox got serious when discussing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the evening’s sharpest remarks on the invasion, he said that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was a comedian—and thus a fellow artist. He urged censored dissidents in Russia to speak up.
Cox said, “In Russia for those who don’t like – and artists in particular – I think we should get involved and celebrate and hopefully they can make a difference, as I believe. that they can,” Cox said. appreciated.
The SAG Awards are considered one of the most reliable predictors of the Academy Awards. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences make up the largest percentage of actors, and their choices often align. In 2020, when the cast of “Parasite” and Brad Pitt won, they matched exactly.
Although the Actors Guild and the Academy split last year when Aaron Sorkin’s 1960 courtroom drama “Trial of the Chicago 7” topped the SAG Awards and “Nomadland” won the Oscars, “CODA” won shows that it is a great threat to win the best. Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” (which went without a win on Sunday) and Jane Campion’s major Oscar-nominated “The Power of the Dog” (which failed to garner an ensemble cast, even though three of its actors were individually nominated). was nominated).
SAG’s track record could also mean that Will Smith, star of the Williams family tennis drama “King Richard,” is heading for his first Oscar. Smith won the Best Actor award, receiving his first SAG Award.
“This may be one of the greatest moments of my career because I was named for ‘King Richard’ sitting next to Venus Williams,” Smith said with a smile.
Best actress has been a more difficult category to track down. Many have viewed Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”) as the favorite to win her second Oscar. Particularly in the competitive category, those who are neglected have often garnered the most attention. Kristen Stewart of “Spencer” was passed over by SAG, while Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”) missed the film Academy.
Yet it was Jessica Chastain, who plays the infamous televangelist in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” who won her first individual SAG Award on Sunday. With the Oscars set to go on March 27, no category could be more precarious.
Meanwhile, “West Side Story”‘s Ariana DeBos confirmed her frontline status with Sunday’s win for Best Supporting Performance by a Female Actor. DeBose’s award also had historical resonance.
Speaking to reports in the virtual backstage media room, DeBos said, “It’s a sign that the doors are opening.” “It’s an honor to be seen, it’s an honor to be an Afro-Latina, an openly queer woman of color, a dancer, a singer, and an actor. It’s a sign to me that I won’t be the last, and This is the important part.”
The SAG Awards, which will be available to stream Monday on HBO Max, are presented by the Hollywood Actors Guild SAG-AFTRA. Since the January Golden Globes were a non-event, they were Hollywood’s first major, televised, in-person awards show this year—with a red carpet and tear-jerking speeches. The “Hamilton” trio of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., and Daveed Diggs closed the broadcast with the stated theme of “together again”.
“We have returned to a world where all we have to do to hang out like this is get ready, show up, get swabbed, sanitized, screened, masked, vaccinated, boosted, rapid- within 24 hours. Get Tested and PCR-Cleared. ,” said Odom Jr., “who is ready to party now?”
Some cast members participated remotely, citing quarantine rules related to production schedules – including major television nominee, “Ted Lasso”. Appearing by video link with his classmates around him, Jason Sudeikis accepted the award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. The Apple TV+ show was later named Best Comedy Series.
While the Academy Awards are not making vaccinations mandatory for presenters (just attendees), it was required for the SAG Awards, which are voted on by the SAG-AFTRA, the Hollywood Actors Guild. Other prizes went to Gene Smart of “Hacks”, Kate Winslet of “Mare of Easttown” and Michael Keaton of “Dopesic”, who dedicated his award to his nephew Michael. Keaton previously said he died in 2016 from fentanyl and heroin use.
The SAG Awards also coronated “The Queen” actress Helen Mirren. The five-time SAG winner was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Honestly, every accomplishment I’ve been successful in is a result of my mantra which is basically: Be on time and don’t be an asshole,” said Mirren, 76. “Thanks, thanks, SAG so much for that. I hate to say the word ‘sag’ at my age.”