Oscars race heats up as ‘Sinners’ takes top prize at SAG Actor Awards

After a near awards-season sweep by “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners” won best ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild’s 32nd Actor Awards on Sunday, shaking up the Oscar race and setting up a potential nail-biter finale in two weeks at the Academy Awards.

The guild’s awards, formerly known as the SAG Awards, are one of the most closely watched Oscar precursors. Actors make up the largest slice of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and their choices at the Actor Awards often align.

The victory for Ryan Coogler’s blues-soaked vampire saga showed that it has a strong chance to win at the Oscars, too, despite an almost unblemished run of awards for Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another.” It’s won at the Golden Globes, the Producers Guild Awards, the BAFTAs and the Directors Guild Awards.

But the win Sunday, in a Netflix-streamed ceremony at the Shine Auditorium in Los Angeles, flipped that awards-season script. Writer-director Ryan Coogler, whose “Black Panther” triumphed at the guild’s awards in 2019, became the first filmmaker to steer two ensembles to the guild’s top prize.

“From the bottom of our hearts, to the bottom of your hearts, thank you so much for everything,” said Delroy Lindo, who spoke on behalf of the film’s cast.

Moments earlier, Michael B. Jordan also won best male actor, upsetting the category favorite, Timothée Chalamet, and handing the 39-year-old Jordan the most significant prize of his acclaimed career. Even Jordan looked shocked as the audience rose to its feet and Viola Davis, the award’s presenter, celebrated.

“I wasn’t expecting this at all,” said Jordan, who reflected on starting out as actor before he paused to appreciate the moment. “Yeah, man, this is pretty cool.”

As expected, Jessie Buckley won best female actor for her performance in “Hamnet.” But the other actor races have been harder to call. On Sunday, Sean Penn (who didn’t attend) won best supporting male actor for “One Battle After Another” and Amy Madigan won best supporting female actor for “Weapons.”

The 75-year-old Madigan, who had never before been nominated by the guild, was visibly surprised. Partway through her winding and charming acceptance speech, she looked down at the statuette.

“It’s like when you were little and you had the Barbie and then you got Ken and whipped down his drawers and went, ‘Hey, that’s nothing,'” joked Madigan before apologizing for getting distracted.

A posthumous prize for Catherine O’Hara

Catherine O’Hara posthumously won best female actor in a comedy series for her performance as a movie executive in the showbiz satire “The Studio.” O’Hara died at the age of 71 on Jan. 30 from a blood clot in the lungs. At the Shine Auditorium in Los Angeles, the crowd stood in a standing ovation for O’Hara after she was announced as the winner.

Seth Rogen, co-creator of “The Studio,” accepted the award on her behalf. He recalled a passionate collaborator who would, the night before a scene, invariably send a polite email with suggested rewrites. Rogen said O’Hara “showed that you could be a genius and you could be kind.”

“If you have people in your lives who don’t know her work,” Rogen said, “show them O’Hara dancing to Harry Belafonte in ‘Beetlejuice,’ show them O’Hara hurting her knee in ‘Best in Show’ and doing that amazing thing where she hobbles around, and tell the people as they are laughing that that’s Catherine O’Hara and we were lucky that we got to live in a world where she so generously shared her talents with us.”

A ceremony that skirted politics

The ceremony, presented by the actors guild SAG-AFTRA, were hosted by returning emcee Kristen Bell, who kicked off the show on a light, song-and-dance note despite the war in Iran and entertainment industry upheaval. Sean Astin, SAG-AFTRA president, offered a “a prayer for peace” in his remarks.

The Actor Awards were the biggest Hollywood bash since Paramount reached an agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $111 billion. The merger, which awaits regulatory approval, sent shock waves through Hollywood. Netflix chief executive Ted Sarandos, whose company lost out to Paramount competing bid, walked the red carpet in jeans.

The win for “Sinners” insures that Warner Bros. will head into the Academy Awards with the two clear best pictures favorites in it and “One Battle After Another” — an awards-season coup for a studio set to be sold.

Before the ceremony began, the award for best stunt ensemble went to a Paramount release: “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.” Among the TV awards, “The Studio” won for comedy series and “The Pitt” won for drama series. Individual winners included Keri Russell (“The Diplomat”), Rogen (“The Studio”), Michelle Williams (“Dying for Sex”), Owen Cooper (“Adolescence”) and Noah Wyle (“The Pitt”).

A Harrison Ford tribute

Harrison Ford was honored with the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award, a prize presented with warm sarcasm by Woody Harrelson. The 83-year-old actor said he was humbled.

“I’m in a room with actors, many of whom are here because they’ve been nominated to receive a prize for their amazing work, while I’m here to receive a prize for being alive,” said Ford, who called it “the half point” of his career.

Ford teared up for much of his speech, reflecting on a career that he noted was “not an overnight success.” He called the award “very encouraging.”

“I’m indeed a lucky guy,” said Ford. “Lucky to have found my people. Lucky to have work that challenges me. Lucky to still be doing it.”

—Jake Coyle, AP Film Writer

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