SAG Awards: 5 reasons why Fantasia Barrino (‘The Color Purple’) can win Best Actress
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After recently seeing “The Color Purple,” I presented my “Five Reasons Why Danielle Brooks Will Win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar” right here on Gold Derby. While Brooks is still holding in second place in the official odds (right behind Da’Vine Joy Randolph in “The Holdovers”), I have no doubt that Brooks will soon enjoy the lead after more people experience “Purple.”
I’m much less confident about my prediction in the Best Actress category. I still have a few key films to screen, after I which I hope to have a more solid vision of how the Oscar race will play out. But since I’m still riding on a “Purple” high, there is one more awards argument that I feel ready to make. Here are five reasons why Fantasia Barrino can win at the SAG Awards for Best Actress.
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1. Her role is tasty SAG bait.
No, she’s not playing a real-life person and her physical transformation is relatively minor compared to the those of other recent SAG (and Oscar) champions like Brendan Fraser in “The Whale,” Jessica Chastain in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker,” Renee Zellweger in “Judy” and Gary Oldman in “Darkest Hour.” Still, Fantasia has other things going for her at this hour. She’s portraying a famous character from a book (the 1982 novel by Alice Walker,) movie (the 1985 film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Whoopi Goldberg) and Broadway musical (the Tony-winning 2005 original plus the Tony-winning 2015 revival). It should be noted that the role of Celie brought Tony Awards to LaChanze in 2006 and Cynthia Erivo in 2016. I would argue that Celie would have carried Goldberg to Oscar victory if she hadn’t been riding alongside the ridiculously overdue Geraldine Page in “The Trip to Bountiful.” (“The world’s greatest actress in the English language,” presenter F. Murray Abraham declared when he read the name of the previous seven-time Oscar loser.) Getting back to Celie, it’s a sympathetic part and she’s someone whom you can’t help but root for. She’s battered, beaten and bruised. Underfed, overlooked and unappreciated. But still charming, charismatic and courageous. In her big screen debut, Fantasia manages to make the role her own. And in addition to her dramatic scene work with a cast of amazing actors, she has a show-stopping musical number with “I’m Here.” That could make SAG voters go silly for Celie.
2. “The Color Purple” will be a huge commercial hit.
The eagerly-awaited film opens on Christmas Day from Warner Bros., and will likely sell tickets faster than you can say “Santa Claus.” Why does this matter? Because most SAG members will see the film — and primarily on the big screen. The moviegoing experience generates an excitement that streaming just can’t compete with. And the crowd-pleasing “Color Purple” and its superb cinematography shines so brightly on the big screen. SAG spectators will remember that glow.
3. “The Color Purple” could sweep the SAG Awards.
I already made it clear that Danielle Brooks has the Supporting Actress statuette all sewn up. Esteemed Gold Derby Senior Editor Marcus James Dixon calls “Color” a “lock” to take SAG Ensemble. If you’re thinking that SAG may want to spread the wealth, recall that many thought the same thing last year — only to be surprised when “Everything Everywhere All at Once” won every SAG race that it could. If the guild really loves “The Color Purple,” checking off Fantasia’s name could help complete the film’s awards rainbow.
4. SAG likes to celebrate diversity.
Of course, the award is about acting. But SAG is an especially inclusive bunch. And they seem to appreciate decided diversity almost as much as divine dramatics. Consider some SAG Ensemble selections from the past 15 years. 2008’s “Slumdog Millionaire.” 2011’s “The Help.” 2016’s “Hidden Figures.” 2018’s “Black Panther.” 2019’s “Parasite.” 2021’s “CODA.” 2022’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Some were clear Oscar frontrunners. But others were actually underdogs. Fantasia may seem like an underdog — but the chance to reward a stellar performance from a woman of color might be too good for SAG members to pass up.
5. She may have an edge over many of her likely competitors.
Obviously, we don’t yet know the lineup. So I’ll just focus on the likely SAG Lead Actress contenders. While Lily Gladstone is lovely in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the acting may be too quiet to get noticed by SAG. Carey Mulligan in “Maestro” previously SAG-competed for 2009’s “An Education” and 2020’s “Promising Young Woman.” Both times she lost to ladies with flashier material. Will history may repeat itself again? While Annette Bening is accomplished as ever in “Nyad,” the docu-drama may have limited appeal to actors. And then there’s current favorite Emma Stone in “Poor Things.” She was previously named Best Actress by the guild for 2016’s “La La Land” — and eventually danced away with the Oscar. However, only two other women has received SAG’s Best Actress prize twice — and those were SAG stalwarts Frances McDormand (for 1996’s “Fargo” and 2017’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) and Viola Davis (for 2011’s “The Help” and 2020’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”). Is Stone really in the same league? I’m guessing that SAG may wish to spread the wealth, stealing from poor thing Stone and giving to another richly deserving talent. If that happens, Fantasia could see her fantasy become reality — another case of “Purple” turning into SAG gold.
PREDICT the 2024 SAG Award nominations through January 10
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