Inclusion Ruled At the 2022 SAG Awards
This year's SAG Awards celebrated some of the outstanding, diverse performances from the past year.
The 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards saw several history-making wins, as the guild awarded several first-time nominees from communities that have been under-represented in Hollywood over the years.
Ariana DeBose, who has already won a Golden Globe and received an Oscar nomination for portraying Anita in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story, became the first Afro-Latina and openly queer woman of color to win a SAG Award. In her acceptance speech for Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, the multi-hyphenate spoke on her journey toward becoming an actor.
"It's taken a long time for me to feel comfortable calling myself an actor," she said. "My roots come from the dance world and the Broadway stage, and the Anita we see on screen took every bit of me but she took 10 years to make and I'm extremely proud of her and of our film."
CODA actor Troy Kotsur won the award for Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role, becoming the first deaf actor to be nominated and to win an individual acting prize. The film's cast also took home the award for Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, the first such win for a film centered on multiple deaf characters portrayed by deaf actors.
In his emotional speech, said via an ASL interpreter, Kotsur reflected on his long history of being a SAG member. "Wow. Thank you so much to all the members of SAG. I am so proud to be a member. I’ve been a member since 2001, and so now I feel like I’m finally part of the family," he said.
Lee Jung-jae and HoYeon Jung from the Netflix hit Squid Game, also took home awards for Male Actor and Female Actor in a Drama Series, respectively. The stunt team for the Korean drama also won an untelevised award for Action Performance By a Stunt Ensemble in a TV Series. The three awards mark the first time that a non-English TV series and a Korean series has won at the ceremony, following wins by the Parasite cast and Minari's Youn Yuh-jung on the film side.
Jung said in her acceptance speech, "I have sat many-a-times watching you on the big screen dreaming of one day becoming an actor. I just want to say thank you so much," before adding, "Thank you [for making my] dream and opening the door for me. I love my Squid Game crew!"
Other winners included the Ted Lasso cast, the Succession cast, Jean Smart for Hacks, Will Smith for King Richard, Michael Keaton for Dopesick, Kate Winslet for Mare of Easttown, and Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
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