The rare awards season favorite “Everything Everywhere All at Once” advanced strongly Sunday at the SAG Awards, taking home not only the best cast trophy and acting awards for Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, but also earned Jamie Lee Curtis a statuette.
The SAG Awards, from the Screen Actors Guild of America, are usually a good predictor of the Academy Awards, and Sunday’s ceremony took some unexpected turns in the Oscars race.
Jamie Lee Curtis surprised by winning the best supporting actress category for her performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” beating the favorite, Angela Bassett. Brendan Fraser took the best actor award for “The Whale” (“The whale”).
Bassett, star of the Marvel movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” had been the top contender in the category for weeks, if not months. But Curtis, nominated for her first SAG Award, was the surprise winner at the gala that was broadcast live on Netflix’s YouTube page. Visibly emotional, Curtis said she was wearing the wedding ring that her father Tony Curtis gave to her mother Janet Leigh.
“Look at me, I’m a ‘nepo baby,'” she said, referring to the term used for the children of celebrities who benefit from nepotism. “But the reality is that I am 64 years old and this is incredible.”
In the week leading up to the SAGs, “Everything” also became the winner of the Directors and Producers Guild Awards, two of the awards that tend to most accurately predict Oscar winners. At the SAGs, Yeoh took the lead.
“This is not just for me,” Yeoh said. “It’s for every little girl that she looks like me.”
Quan, who was an actor as a child and had strayed from the profession for years due to lack of auditions, noted that he is the first Asian to win in the supporting actor category at the SAGs.
“When I walked away from acting, it was because there were so few opportunities,” Quan said. “Now tonight we’re celebrating James Hong, Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Hong Chau, Harry Shum Jr. The landscape looks a lot different now.”
Apple TV +, the television platform of the technology company, will premiere on December 9 “Emancipation”, the first film that Will Smith stars in after the controversy that generated the slap he gave to comedian Chris Rock during the Oscar gala.
The SAGs gave some clarity on the main acting categories. The best actor award was one of the most difficult to define. Austin Butler of “Elvis,” Fraser of “The Whale” and Colin Farrell of “The Banshees of Inisherin” have all been seen as potential winners at different times, but it was Fraser who took home the SAG for the role with which he returns under the spotlight.
“Trust me, if you stay there and put one foot in front of the other, you’ll get where you need to go,” Fraser said.
Quinta Brunson and Janelle James of the series “Abbott Elementary” kicked off the 29th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Although they weren’t hosting, Brunson and James officially kicked off the awards show and broke the ice with a few jokes, including one that hinted that Viola Davis is beyond her EGOT status, or artist who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
Brunson returned moments later to the stage with the cast of “Abbott Elementary” to receive the SAG Award for Outstanding Cast in a Comedy Series. Brunson, the creator of the sitcom and one of its producers, told her coworkers: “These people keep me grounded.”
“The White Lotus” also came out on top, winning the award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series and giving another award to Jennifer Coolidge, who has also won for the series at Emmys and Golden Globes. With tears in her eyes, Coolidge recalled how her love for acting came about when she was in her first year of grade school, when her father took her to see Charlie Chaplin movies. She also thanked her escort for the ceremony, her friend and actor Tim Bagley.
“You were a great chaperone tonight,” Coolidge said. “I can’t wait for us to go home.”
The ceremony’s top prize went to a 2022 winner: Jessica Chastain. A year after prevailing for her leading role in the film “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Chastain won again at the SAG Awards, this time in the category of best actress in a limited series or movie made for TV, for the series of Showtime about a country music power couple “George & Tammy”. Chastain flew in for the awards from the preview screenings of the upcoming Broadway revival of “A Doll’s House”.
Sunday’s streamed gala had a slightly less elaborate feel. Because they had no time limits imposed by a broadcaster, the winners were not ushered offstage with music. Very formal and slow, Sam Elliott, winner of the award for best actor in a limited series or movie made for TV for “1883”, read his thanks in a much longer time than the allotted time. But the ceremony quickly moved on to early winners, including awards from Jean Smart (“Hacks”), Jeremy Allen White (“Bear”) and Jason Bateman (“Ozark”).
UNCENSORED SAG AWARDS
Yeoh sweared as she thanked her best actress award.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “The Banshees of Inisherin” began the night as the most nominated, with five mentions each. The two films were competing for the best film cast award with “Babylon,” “The Fabelmans” (“Los Fabelmans”) and “Women Talking” (“Ellas hablan”).
An award was announced before the gala from the red carpet: “Top Gun: Maverick” won the award for best stunt cast in the film categories.
The SAG Awards are considered one of the most trusted benchmarks for the Oscars. The actors make up the largest percentage of the film academy, so their choices have the most influence. Last year, “CODA” (“CODA: Signs of the Heart”) triumphed at the SAGs before winning the Oscar for best picture, while actress of Puerto Rican origin Ariana DeBose, Will Smith, Jessica Chastain and Troy Kotsur won a SAG Award before winning an Academy Award.
FULL LIST OF SAG AWARD WINNERS
List of winners from the 29th annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, held Sunday in Los Angeles.
SAG WINNERS IN FILM CATEGORY
Best cast: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”.
Best Actor: Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”.
Best actress: Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”.
Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”.
Best Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”.
Best stunt cast: “Top Gun: Maverick”.
SAG WINNERS IN TELEVISION CATEGORY
Best Drama Cast: “The White Lotus”.
Best Comedy Cast: “Abbott Elementary”.
Best Actress in a Drama Series: Jennifer Coolidge, “The White Lotus”.
Best Actor in a Drama Series: Jason Bateman, “Ozark”.
Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Jean Smart, “Hacks”.
Best Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”.
Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for TV: Sam Elliott, “1883”.
Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for TV: Jessica Chastain, “George & Tammy”.
Best stunt cast: “Stranger Things”.
