On Sunday night, the glitterati gathered in Santa Monica (after extensive COVID-19 testing and safety protocols, many of them were quick to assure us) to ring in the 28th Annual SAG Awards. Overall, the night was...well, I don’t want to say meh, but there weren’t a ton of moments of, say, Brad-and-Jen-holding-hands caliber. Still, it was heartening to see all those famous faces gathered together again, and there were definitely a few things worth talking about. Below, find a guide to the key takeaways from this year’s SAG Awards.
The people Zooming in arguably had more fun than the ones there in person.
While the mood in the room was somewhat subdued, the cast of Ted Lasso—who took home awards for best actor in a comedy series (Jason Sudekis) and best ensemble in a comedy series—appeared to be having a ball in their remote room. More of Hannah Waddington’s “I’m at a really fun party” energy, please!
Translators and interpreters are more important than ever.
Between Troy Kotsur becoming the first deaf male actor to win a SAG Award for his role in CODA (and Marlee Matlin accepting the award for best ensemble in a motion picture on the film’s behalf) and Squid Game star Hoyeon Jung accepting her SAG Award mostly in Korean with the help of a translator, it was a night of overdue reminders that award shows are at their best when everyone can participate.
Even (or especially?) in 2022, ’90s nostalgia goes a long way.
At a remarkably stressful time for global politics, it was weirdly comforting to see Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino reprise their roles as goofy Los Angeles 20-somethings Romy and Michele, not to mention watching The Nanny star (and SAG-AFTRA president) Fran Drescher take the stage to deliver a speech about, among other things, sustainability in Hollywood. Viva the ’90s!
Helen Mirren is indisputably the queen of Hollywood (and our hearts).
At 76, Mirren has decades’ worth of acting experience (and utterly iconic film roles) under her belt, and on Sunday a Zoomed-in Kate Winslet and a physically present Cate Blanchett honored her with the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award (which meant we got a supercut of some of her greatest onscreen moments. Lucky us!). Her mantra—“Be on time, and don’t be an ass”—is one well worth committing to memory.
It was a great night to be a Chastainiac.
A visibly nervous Jessica Chastain gave an endearing acceptance speech after being handed a SAG Award for her role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, marking another high point in her already storied career and giving me an excuse to use the term Chastainiac. A win on both counts.
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