LOS ANGELES – teh Screen Actors Guild Awards are rebranding as The actor Awards, effective with the 32nd annual ceremony on March 1, 2026. The change, announced Friday at a board meeting, aims to better reflect the show’s focus on celebrating actors and align with the name of the award statuette itself – simply, “The Actor.”
“As the beginning,our statue has been called ‘The Actor’ and we’re a show that’s entirely about actors,so this new name is a perfect next step in the show’s evolution,” said the show’s executive producer.
According to awards committee chair JoBeth Williams, the rebrand is intended to improve global recognition. “now that our global audience is really growing, people don’t always understand what the union name is,” she explained. “But ‘the Actor Awards’ they recognize and they know they’re going to see thier favorite actors when they tune in.”
The move mirrors the naming conventions of other major awards shows, such as the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, and Golden Globes, which are commonly known by their trophy names.
The name change also acknowledges the 2012 merger of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and american Federation of Television and Radio Artists (Aftra), which together represent approximately 160,000 members.
The transition follows the recent election of Sean Astin, star of The Lord of the Rings, as the new leader of Sag-Aftra, succeeding Fran Drescher, who led the association through the 2023 Hollywood strikes during her four-year tenure. The Actor Awards are widely considered a key bellwether in the Academy awards race.
