On March 1, Hollywood’s brightest stars graced the stage of the Shrine Auditorium for the 32nd annual Actor Awards, formerly the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. Hosted by Kristen Bell for the third time, the ceremony was livestreamed on Netflix.
This year’s newly implemented dress code had the theme “Reimagining Hollywood Glamour from the ‘20s and ‘30s,” and as always, attendees rose to the task. Chase Infiniti of One Battle After Another arrived on the red carpet in an eye-catching dress fitted with 92,000 crystals, and Viola Davis stunned in a sparkling emerald dress.
Speaking of the red carpet, one of the cutest pre-show moments came when singer Teyana Taylor’s five-year-old daughter, Rue, sang “Let it Go” from Frozen, dazzling those around her and mesmerizing Jessie Buckley, star of Hamnet. And yes, Rue’s fashion was on point.
The big winners of the night were Buckley, who won Best Actress for Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Hamnet, and Michael B. Jordan, who took home Best Actor for Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. Having already raved about Buckley’s performance, I couldn’t help but cheer as she accepted her award, and I never doubted that Jordan would win his category. Another major victory for Sinners occurred when Samuel L. Jackson presented the night’s final award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, and Delroy Lindo gave a truly wonderful acceptance speech on their behalf.
Regarding well-deserved awards, one cannot go without mentioning the heartbreaking moment where the late Catherine O’Hara won Best Actress in a Comedy Series for The Studio. The series’ co-creator, Seth Rogen, who won the award’s male equivalent for his performance in that same show, spoke on her behalf. His tribute to O’Hara was touching, and his reminder to keep her legacy alive gracefully honoured her decades of contributions to the industry.
As SAG-AFTRA, the labour union for screen and audio artists, presented the ceremony, the night also served as a reminder of the importance of actors uniting as one labour movement. Sheryl Lee Ralph, recent star of Abbott Elementary, stressed the necessity of the union during the pre-show interviews, and SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin spoke about the union’s importance during the main event. In addition, Noah Wyle, who was awarded Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in The Pitt, made a personal comment on his relationship with the union.
“I love being an actor. I love actors. Working with you, playing with you, and when necessary, marching alongside all of you, has been the greatest joy of my life. I’m so grateful to this union [….] I don’t take it for granted, and I don’t forget the hard-won fights and battles by giants who fought before us, on whose shoulders I and we all stand.”
Harrison Ford, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award, echoed similar remarks about the personal importance an actor feels through the chance to work alongside others in the shared space of the industry.
“The work I do with other actors is one of the great joys of my life. My career is built on their work, as well as the work of writers, directors, and every single cast member, every crew member […] and being able to deliver the work we create together to an audience is an honour and a privilege.”
The celebration of not just the work of actors, but the community’s collective elevation of its members, gave the Actor Awards a sense of power that distinguishes it from other annual ceremonies. The award winners were selected through a vote of union membership now totalling almost 200,000, making each award both collectively symbolic and deeply personal. While the “Actor Awards” may be running under a new name, it’s a change that harkens back to who unions are for in the first place: The people.
