Michael B. Jordan took home the top prize at Sunday night’s Actor Awards, formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG), throwing the Oscar race wide open just two weeks before the ceremony. The industry’s biggest stars gathered at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles, eager for any clues about who will win at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ awards show on Sunday, March 15.
However, the awards show, presented by Netflix, left more questions than answers. Some are saying the uncertainty this late in awards season makes things more exciting, unpredictable, and fresh. But others who had all but crowned Marty Supremo star Timothée Chalamet as the likely Best Actor winner are now reassessing their predictions after Jordan’s win for Pecadores.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s absence from the ceremony may be a telling sign. While competing in the same category as Jordan and Chalamet, DiCaprio cited the start of filming on What Happens One Night, Martin Scorsese’s new film, as the reason for not attending. However, Una batalla tras otra didn’t fare well at the Actor Awards, despite being the most-nominated film with seven mentions, only taking home one award: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for Sean Penn – who also won at the BAFTAs last week. Penn also did not attend the ceremony.
The awards given by industry unions are often considered the best indicators of who will win at the Oscars. This is because, generally, those who vote for the actors’ guild awards are also members of the Academy and choose the winners in their respective categories.
Does Jordan’s win then signal what’s to arrive at the Oscars, beyond the acting categories? Academy voters have until late afternoon Los Angeles time on Thursday to cast their ballots, and the fact that Pecadores won for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture – and is the most-nominated film with 16 nominations – may tip the scales in its favor. Until last night, Una batalla tras otra appeared to be the frontrunner, especially after the Producers Guild, the most influential industry group, chose it as the year’s best film just 24 hours earlier.
Another expert prediction thrown into doubt by Pecadores’ success was the expectation that Chalamet was the clear favorite to win. The buzz surrounding Chalamet was so strong that a joke during the Actor Awards, hosted by Kristen Bell, revolved around a ping pong tournament between stars with a plasticine sculpture of Chalamet’s face as the trophy.
With one major exception, the race remains unpredictable. The award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role is almost certainly going to Jessie Buckley for Hamnet. The supporting actor and actress categories, however, remain up in the air, as the nominees for the Actor Awards don’t entirely align with those for the Academy Awards. Stellan Skarsgård (Valor sentimental) and Delroy Lindo (Pecadores) are Oscar nominees but were not nominated by the actors’ guild. The same is true for the actress category, with Amy Madigan (La hora de la desaparición) winning at the Actor Awards, while Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (both for Valor sentimental) were nominated for the Oscars.
The Actor Awards also honored Harrison Ford with a Lifetime Achievement Award. “I’m in a room full of actors, and many of them are here because they were nominated to receive an award for the amazing work that they did, while I’m here to receive an award because I’m still alive. It’s a little odd to receive a lifetime achievement award when I’m only halfway through my career. I’m still a working actor,” Ford joked, adding that he was deeply grateful to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg for the roles of Han Solo and Indiana Jones that launched his career.
“In my third year of college, I was lost. I was doing badly in my studies. I felt alone and isolated from the world until I found a group of people who were putting on plays, storytellers, people who I used to suppose were rebels and nerds. I found my vocation and my identity by becoming other people. The work that I do with other actors is one of the greatest joys of my life,” said the actor, who was introduced by his friend Woody Harrelson and accompanied by Michael J. Fox, with whom he is currently filming the third season of Shrinking, available on Apple TV.
“Success in this business brings a certain freedom that comes with the responsibility to support each other, to encourage each other when we can, to keep the door open for the next person, the next lost kid looking for a place to belong,” Ford concluded, also thanking his wife, Calista Flockhart.
Beyond the film categories, the television awards also generated buzz. A surprise win came when Keri Russell was named Best Actress in a Drama Series for The Diplomat (Netflix), beating out Rhea Seehorn, who had been widely expected to win for her performance in Pluribus (Apple TV), having already won the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice award for that role. Russell herself seemed as surprised as anyone when Katherine Hahn and Connor Storrie announced her name.
The remaining awards were largely as expected: Seth Rogen won Best Actor in a Comedy Series for The Studio (Apple TV), which also won for the recently deceased Catherine O’Hara in the supporting actress category, and for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Meanwhile, The Pitt (HBO Max) took home the awards for Best Actor in a Drama Series (Noah Wylie) and Best Ensemble.
In the limited series categories, Michelle Williams won for her work in Fucking a Ghost (Disney+), while Owen Cooper (absent from the ceremony) was chosen as Best Male Actor in a Limited Series for Adolescence (Netflix), completing his sweep of awards for the role: an Emmy, Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice, and Independent Spirits Award.
