The 31st SAG Awards® Was a Night to Honor the Actors’ Journey

The 31st SAG Awards®, held once again at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and streaming live globally on Netflix, was a celebration of the resilience and dedication of those who’ve devoted their lives to the art of performance. Acknowledging the devastating L.A. wildfires that destroyed the homes of many Southern California residents, the ceremony took opportunities to laud the work of first responders while providing a platform for disaster relief efforts and giving viewers a chance to donate to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund.

Award-winning entertainer, New York Times best-selling author, and gender equality advocate Lilly Singh, along with actor, comedian and equal rights activist Sasheer Zamata, hosted the Official Pre-Show. In addition to interviewing nominees, they announced the recipients of the Outstanding Stunt Ensemble awards, with the stunt team of Fall Guy winning for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture and the stunt team of Shōgun winning Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series.

In his opening remarks to show attendees SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland took “a moment to acknowledge the ongoing recovery and rebuilding of our beautiful city of angels.” He also commended the first responders — “the real angels on the front lines during the horrific wildfire season.”

“We're deeply honored to have a number of firefighters in our audience with us,” said Crabtree-Ireland.

He also asked all in attendance to extend gratitude to the broadcast journalist members of SAG-AFTRA who kept the region informed while experiencing great personal risk. “Information is power and the sacrifices journalists made protected us and our loved ones.”

Timothée Chalamet took home the Actor for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for A Complete Unknown. Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role went to Demi Moore for The Substance.

The historical drama Shōgun began the night with five nominations — more than any other series this year — ultimately winning in four categories, with Hiroyuki Sanada receiving Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series and Anna Sawai receiving Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series and the cast receiving Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in addition to the stunt ensemble win.

The SAG Awards® is the only televised awards ceremony to exclusively honor performers, and it gives SAG-AFTRA union members the opportunity to recognize their peers on the big and small screens. In the comedy categories, Martin Short received the Actor statuette for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for Only Murders in the Building and Jean Smart received the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for Hacks — her third statue for her role as Deborah Vance. The cast of Only Murders in the Building took home the honor for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

The cast of Conclave, Sergio Castellitto, Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati, Isabella Rossellini and Stanley Tucci, received the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus presented SAG-AFTRA’s highest honor, the SAG Life Achievement Award, to Jane Fonda, who's been lauded for her decades of advocacy as well as her commitment to the art of acting. The energy of the crowd compelled Fonda to remark, “Your enthusiasm makes this seem less like a late twilight of my life and more like a ‘Go girl! Kick ass!’ Which is good because I’m not done!”

Fonda went on to stress the importance of community and empathy in these difficult times, saying, “What actors create is empathy.”

“We are in our documentary moment,” Fonda said. “This is it and it's not a rehearsal. This is big-time serious folks. So let's be brave. We must stay in community. We must help the vulnerable.”

Fonda’s lifetime of accolades have included two Oscars, two BAFTA Awards, an Emmy, seven Golden Globes, the 2015 AFI Life Achievement Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, Elle’s Women in Hollywood Icon award and the Women in Film Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award, named after Fonda for her lifelong activism and philanthropic commitments. Most recently, she’s been selected to receive Public Counsel’s William O. Douglas Award for her commitment to social justice issues.

During her own speech, SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher gave thanks to the unions who made the night a success. She also stressed the need for her fellow humans to “get out of the head and get into the heart,” and take action to address climate change.

Kristen Bell hosted the ceremony for a second time. Also presenting were Ariana Grande, Ayo Edebiri, Bowen Yang, Colin Farrell, Colman Domingo, Cynthia Erivo, David Duchovny, Drew Starkey, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, Fran Drescher, Gillian Anderson, Harrison Ford, Isabella Rossellini, Jack Quaid, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jessica Williams, Jodie Foster, Joey King, John Lithgow, Keke Palmer, Keri Russell, Kerry Washington, Kumail Nanjiani, Lily Gladstone, Lisa Kudrow, Marissa Bode, Mark Eydelshteyn, Max Greenfield, Michelle Yeoh, Mikey Madison, Millie Bobby Brown, Molly Shannon, Monica Barbaro, Pamela Anderson, Quinta Brunson, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, Sergio Castellitto, Timothée Chalamet, Yura Borisov, Zoe Saldaña and Zooey Deschanel, among others.

View all the honorees at sagawards.org.

The SAG Awards will continue to be streamed on Netflix for 30 days.

All photos by Shutterstock.