Michael B. Jordan wins the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role award and the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture award for Sinners. Photo / Getty Images
Sunday night was the 32nd Screen Actors Guild Awards, but the first one under its new name, “the Actor Awards”.
Before the ceremony, there were two looming questions: Would Timothée Chalamet propose to Kylie Jenner? And would One Battle After Another or Sinners be the big winner of the night?
The collective dream (or nightmare, depending on whom you ask) of an onstage proposal was not to be. Jenner was nowhere to be seen, and besides, Chalamet lost to Michael B. Jordan anyway.
Sinners also took the top honour of outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture. Samuel L. Jackson – and Viola Davis before him – did little to contain their excitement as they announced back-to-back wins. “This project was anointed,” Delroy Lindo said during his acceptance speech on behalf of the cast. Judging by the messianic response at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall, “anointed” didn’t seem like hyperbole.
“It even feels electric to stand next to them,” host Kristen Bell said after they won.
The other big winner of the night was The Studio. The cast won for best ensemble in a comedy series, Seth Rogen for best actor in a comedy series and Catherine O’Hara for best supporting actress in a comedy series. O’Hara’s posthumous win was the most poignant moment of the night, with Rogen accepting on her behalf. “She really showed that you could be a genius and be kind,” Rogen said as the camera cut to tearful close-ups of O’Hara’s fellow nominees Jenna Ortega and Kathryn Hahn.
That kind of solidarity is supposed to be what these awards are all about. This is, after all, a ceremony sponsored by a union. Noah Wyle flashed his union card during his acceptance speech for best actor in a drama series in The Pitt.
“I’m so grateful to this union and for all the privileges and protections it affords me,” he said.
Amy Madigan drove the point home in her acceptance speech for her high-camp turn as Aunt Gladys in Weapons. “Actors love other actors,” she said. “I’m a union person; I come from Chicago,” she added later. She also compared the flat crotch of the Actor award to a Ken doll.
That’s the name of the statue, by the way: the Actor. It’s partly why SAG said it decided to change the name to the Actor Awards. Also to make the name more understandable to international audiences. And while the Actor statue may not be fully anatomically correct, he does have a little turquoise butt, flashed regularly from the podium throughout the night.
It’s a fitting detail for an evening of television that’s a bit ... well, cheekier than other awards shows. Because it streamed on Netflix, there was no bleeping of F-bombs. Winners were not played off by an orchestra. The banter was not as stiff as the scripted dialogue we expect from the Oscars.
Meg Stalter chewed scenery with Paul W. Downs, playing “the comic relief that was cut from Hamnet”. Janelle James gave a delightful impression of Angela Bassett in Waiting to Exhale, made even more delightful when her scene partner, Sterling K. Brown, fluffed the punch line (he said “white” when he should have said “black”). Bell tried to read a monologue full of medical jargon from The Pitt while Wyle timed her.
Moments such as these hinted at the power that this awards show could have if it leaned into the looseness. So, too, did the opening shots of actors sitting at tables that were noticeably crowded with bottles, cocktails and stemware. Seeing all those drinks – and the “I’m so-and-so, and I’m an actor” intros that reminded me so much of an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting – made me wonder if the Actor Awards could grab the boozy baton from the Golden Globes, which I am told was much more fun back when it was more of a tipsy Hollywood in-joke.
Some of the best moments of awards shows in recent memory were when actors made mistakes – Faye Dunaway bellowing La La Land, John Travolta introducing the wick-edly talented “Adele Dazeem”. But in a post-Will Smith/Chris Rock world, it seems unlikely that producers would encourage more spontaneity any time soon.
Instead, the Actor Awards emphasised the “started from the bottom, now we’re here” vibes. The ceremony began with actors recounting tales of struggle early in their careers. Kristen Wiig recalled getting stung by a bee on set while working as an extra and going to the hospital. Kate Hudson said she “used to get in trouble for daydreaming”. Michael J. Fox – after an extended round of applause from his peers – recalled dumpster diving in Los Angeles before he was cast on Family Ties.
Sure, it’s kind of inspiring to hear these tidbits. And it’s kind of cute to hear Woody Harrelson make self-deprecating jokes when presenting his buddy Harrison Ford with a lifetime achievement award: “His movies have grossed 10 billion dollars. I consider one of my films a big hit if 13 people see it on JetBlue.”
But wouldn’t it be more fun to see actors act out a little bit?
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