SAG Awards: ‘CODA,’ ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Succession’ Score Major Wins

Beatrice Verhoeven
·7 min read
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CODA, Ted Lasso, Squid Game and Succession scored major wins at the 2022 SAG Awards on Sunday night, with CODA‘s Troy Kotsur making history when he became the first deaf actor to win a SAG Award when he scored the best supporting actor trophy. The film also made history as the first film with a predominantly deaf cast to receive the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Using a sign-language interpreter, he explained that he has been a SAG member since 2007 and that he now feels “like I’m finally part of the family.” He also talked about sleeping in his car and in his dressing room backstage when he first started out, only to round out his speech by professing his love to his wife and joking that his daughter will not be allowed to use the trophy as a jewelry stand.

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Ariana DeBose won the award for best supporting actress for West Side Story, telling the audience that it’s “taken a long time to call myself an actor,” noting her roots come from dancing and Broadway.

Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion stars Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino reunited to present the award for cast ensembles, walking onto the stage to “Time After Time,” a nod back to the 1997 film. Ted Lasso won the award in the comedy series category. Hannah Waddingham and other members of the cast accepted the award remotely via video, shouting out Juno Temple, who was seated in the audience in Santa Monica.

Ted Lasso had already scored a previous win on the TV side when Jason Sudeikis won best leading actor in a comedy series, mirroring his win from the Emmys in September.

Jean Smart won the outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series for Hacks, which marks her first win at the SAG Awards, and also mirrors her win from September’s Emmy Awards. During her speech, she joked that acting was the oldest profession of mankind before asking the world to beg for peace in light of the Russian invasion in the Ukraine.

Lee Jung-jae won best actor in a drama series for his role in Netflix’s Squid Game. Speaking through a translator, he couldn’t believe his win. “I did write something but I don’t think I’ll get to reading it,” he said, putting away his notecards. He thanked the fans around the world and the Squid Game team, who were cheering him on in the audience.

Squid Game scored its second win when Lee’s co-star Jung Ho-yeon won the award for best actress in a drama series and was equally surprised, giving an emotional speech and thanking the other actors in the room for having been her inspiration.

Succession won its first SAG Award in the best ensemble in a drama series category. Brian Cox, wearing a mask that donned his character’s famous “fuck off” line, took the stage to thank HBO, the writers and the cast including Sarah Snook and Matthew Macfadyen who weren’t there to accept the award in person.

Cox then pivoted to discuss the war in Ukraine, noting, “The thing that’s really distressed me is what’s happening in Russia to fellow actors and actresses and performers. They are told under penalty of high treason that they cannot say a word about Ukraine and I think that is pretty awful. And I think we should all stand together for those people, the people in Russia who don’t like what’s going on and particularly the artists. We should really join in celebrating them and hoping that they can actually make a shift. I believe they can.”

Kate Winslet won a trophy for her role in Mare of Easttown in the best performance by a female actor in a TV movie or limited series category. Winslet was not there to accept the award, so The Power of the Dog stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons accepted it on her behalf.

Michael Keaton won the best male actor in a TV movie or limited series award for Dopesick, which was presented by Salma Hayek. However, when Hayek read out the winner, Keaton was nowhere to be found.

“Are you kidding me?” Hayek said. “I have stage fright!”

Keaton then rushed the stage, apologizing for his “quick trip to the bathroom.” In his speech, he called himself lucky to be part of projects that spawn “thought, conversation, actual change. Who gets to have that job? How fortunate am I that good can come from something I do just because I wanted to become an actor?”

Calling on the massive inequality in the world, he said he could feel people’s eyes rolling and wanting to say, “shut up and dribble, shut up and act. The act thing I’ll quit, but shutting up, not so much.” He then credited Volodymyr Zelenskyy for “fighting the fight” in the Ukraine, before referencing his nephew Michael and sister Pam “given the subject matter” of Dopesick, which focuses on America’s struggle with opioid addiction across the United States. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in August, Keaton said he was drawn to Dopesick for more personal reasons: His nephew, Michael, died from fentanyl and heroin use a few years ago in his 30s.

Jessica Chastain won the award for best female actor in a leading role for her performance in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, marking her second SAG win. She thanked her co-stars, which included Andrew Garfield and Vincent D’Onofrio, and she thanked Tammy Faye Bakker, calling her a “trailblazer.”

In the best male actor in a leading role category, Will Smith won for his portrayal of Richard Williams in King Richard. In a tearful speech, he thanked the Williams family for entrusting him with their life story, and said he was proud to introduce leads Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton, who played Venus and Serena Williams respectively, to the industry.

Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture went to CODA. Marlee Matlin, through an interpreter, thanked writer and director Sian Heder and the interpreters, as well as all CODAs (Children of Deaf Adults) everywhere.

“We deaf actors have come a long way,” Matlin said on stage. “Thirty-five years, I’ve been seeing more work out there and all this time, I’ve watched all of your films and I pay the deepest respect to all of you. Is Meryl Streep here? She is? Yes! I love you. This validates the fact that we deaf actors can work like anybody else. We look forward to more opportunities for deaf actors, and deaf culture.”

The In Memoriam segment commemorated actors like Edward Asner, Bob Saget, Lisa Barnes, Helen McCrory, Saginaw Grant, Suzzanne Douglas, Al Harrington, Norman Lloyd, Michael K. Williams, Melvin Van Peebles, Sonny Chiba, James Michael Tyler, Willie Garson, Meat Loaf, Ned Beatty, Gaspard Ulliel, Louie Anderson, Peter Bogdanovich, Sidney Poitier and Betty White.

Daveed Diggs, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr., all of whom were part of the original Broadway cast of Hamilton, opened the ceremony that took place at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica.

“Together again finally we return to a world where all we have to do to hang out like this is get dressed up, show up, get swabbed, sanitized, screen, mask, vaccinated, boosted, rapid tested and PCR cleared in 48 hours, now who’s ready to party?” Odom Jr. said.

Winslet remotely presented Helen Mirren with the 57th SAG Lifetime Achievement Award. “Her acting power is immeasurable and magnetic,” Winslet said before listing Mirren’s credits. “Her performances give us real human beings… she’s a joy to watch.” Then, Winslet passed the microphone to “another admirer” of Mirren, Cate Blanchett.

“Words never suffice — her works speak for themselves,” Blanchett said after joking about the guild finding another “Kate” to present the award in person. A reel of Mirren’s work was then shown on screen, paired with “She’s Not There” by the Zombies. Mirren received a standing ovation.

“Lifetime achievement sounds so grand,” Mirren said, before joking she hates to use the word “sag” at her age. Listing her inspirations and thanking her team, she addressed the actors in the audience and thanked them for all the “giggles and laughter” and their “emotional generosity,” “incredible energy” and devotion to the profession.

Before the show began, No Time to Die won the award for outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a motion picture, while Squid Game won for TV series.

The full list of 2022 SAG Award winners can be found here.

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