“CODA,” deaf actors, Will Smith big winners at SAG Awards

In disgust, the deaf family drama “CODA” won top honors in an unpredictable and historic 28th Screen Actors Guild Award which also won the protagonists of “Squid Game,” the cast of “Ted Lasso.” and Will Smith.

The ceremony, held Sunday at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and broadcast by both TNT and TBS, was remarkably groundbreaking, with historic victories for deaf actors, Korean stars and some of Hollywood’s top names. It culminated in “CODA”, Sian Heder’s thrilling adult TV movie about Sian Heder’s coming of age, with a trio of deaf actors in Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur and Daniel Durant, along with newcomer Emilia Jones , winner of the best set. The film has been seen as a key moment for the deaf Hollywood community.

“This validates the fact that we deaf actors can work like anyone else. We look forward to more opportunities for deaf actors,” Matlin said on stage before teaching the crowd sign language for ‘T’ I love”.

Matlin is the only deaf actor to have won an Oscar, but her “CODA” co-star Kotsur could be online to join her. Kotsur won Best Supporting Actor 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 “remembering me to check my fly before walking down the red carpet.”

Netflix’s “Squid Game”, the first non-English language series nominated by the Guild of Actors, won three awards, including Lee Jung-jae for Best Actor in a Drama Series and Jung Hoyeon for Best Actress in a Series dramatic. . These victories came from “Succession” stars Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong, and Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston from “The Morning Show.”

“I’ve sat down many times watching you on the big screen dreaming of one day becoming an actor,” Jung told the crowd, holding back tears.

Still, HBO’s “Succession” finally reigned in the Best Drama Series category. Cox aptly accepted the award with an insult imprinted on his face mask and another uttered as he struggled to pull it off. But Cox got serious when he spoke The Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the most scathing comments of the night on the invasion, he noted that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was a comedian and therefore a fellow performer. He urged censored dissidents in Russia to speak out.

“People in Russia who don’t like what’s going on, and artists in particular, I think we should come together and celebrate and hope they can make a change, as I think they can,” Cox said. while the audience stood up and applauded.

The SAG Awards are considered one of the most reliable predictors of the Academy Awards. Actors represent the largest percentage of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 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 diverged last year when Aaron Sorkin’s 1960s court drama “Trial of the Chicago 7” topped the SAG Awards and “Nomadland” won the Oscars. the victory of “CODA” suggests that it is a great threat to win the best prize. photo on “Belfast” by Kenneth Branagh (who didn’t win on Sunday) and the main Oscar nominee by Jane Campion “The Power of the Dog” (which didn’t get any group spirit even though three of its actors went be nominated individually).

SAG’s career may also mean that Will Smith, the star of the Williams family’s “King Richard” tennis drama, is heading for his first Oscar. Smith won Best Actor, winning his first SAG Award.

“It may have been one of the biggest moments of my career right now because my name was ‘King Richard’ sitting next to Venus Williams,” Smith said.

Best Actress has been the hardest category to track down. Many have seen Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”) as her favorite to win her second Oscar. In a particularly competitive category, those who have often rejected are the ones who have focused the most. Kristen Stewart of “Spencer” was ignored by SAG, while Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”) was missing from the film academy.

However, it was Jessica Chastain, who plays the infamous televangelist in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” who won on Sunday and won her first individual SAG award. Looking ahead to the Oscars on March 27, no category can be more uncertain.

Meanwhile, Ariana DeBose of “West Side Story” confirmed her status as a favorite with a victory on Sunday in the best supporting performance of a female actress. The DeBose Award also had historical resonance.

“It’s indicative that doors are being opened,” DeBose said, speaking to reports in a backstage virtual media room. “It’s an honor to be seen, it’s an honor to be an Afro-Latin woman, an openly queer woman of color, a dancer, a singer and an actor. It’s indicative for me that I won’t be the last, and that’s the important part.”

The SAG Awards, which air live on HBO Max on Monday, are presented by the Hollywood Actors Guild SAG-AFTRA. After the January Golden Globes weren’t an event, they were the first big in-person televised awards show in Hollywood, with a red carpet and teary-eyed speeches, this year. The “Hamilton” trio of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs started the show with the song “back together.”

“We have returned to a world where all we have to do to spend time like this is dress up, introduce ourselves, scrub them, disinfect ourselves, examine ourselves, masked, vaccinated, reinforced, rapidly tested and PCR approved in 24 hours, “said Odom Jr.” Now, who’s ready for the party? “

Some cast, citing quarantine regulations related to production schedules, attended remotely, including the main nominee on television, “Ted Lasso.” Appearing via video link with his co-stars around him, Jason Sudeikis accepted the award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. Apple TV + was later named best comedy series.

While the Academy Awards do not require presenters (only attendees) to be vaccinated, it was required for the SAG Awards, which are voted on by the Hollywood SAG-AFTRA Actors Guild. Other awards went to Jean Smart from “Hacks”, Kate Winslet from “Mother of Easttown” and Michael Keaton from “Dopesick”, who dedicated her award to her nephew, Michael. Keaton has previously said he died of fentanyl and heroin use in 2016.

The SAG Awards also crowned “The Queen” actress Helen Mirren. The five-time SAG winner was awarded a prize for his career.

“Honestly, any achievement I’ve achieved is the result of my mantra which is basically: be punctual and don’t be ass,” said Mirren, 76. “Thank you, thank you, SAG very much for that. I don’t like to say the word ‘sag’ at my age.”

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