Four actors entered the history of the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, after being the first people of color to sweep the four main categories of acting in the cinema.
The SAG Awards are a harbinger of the Oscar that is closely watched. Actors are the largest branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and SAG winners often align with those of the Oscars.
Last year, “Parasite” won the Oscar for best film, and all SAG winners – Renée Zellweger, Brad Pitt, Laura Dern, Joaquin Phoenix – also won the Oscar.
These awards this year went to an entirely black group of actors, potentially setting the stage for a historically diverse list of Oscar winners: Chadwick Boseman, best male actor for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”; Viola Davis, best actress for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”; Yuh-Jung Youn, best supporting actress in “Minari”; and Daniel Kaluuya, best supporting actor for “Judas and the Black Messiah”.
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In this video capture provided by the SAG Awards, Viola Davis, right, accepts the award for outstanding performance from an actress in a lead role for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, as her husband Julius Tennon notes during the 27th annual Screen Actors Award guild on April 4, 2021.
(SAG Awards via AP)
As Yahoo Entertainment noted, the 2021 program marked the first time that people of color took home the best acting awards at the SAG awards since they started in 1995. The vehicle revealed that Yuh-Jung Youn’s best actress in a supporting role is particularly innovative for the awards, as she is the first Asian woman to take home a SAG award.
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“I don’t know how to describe my feelings,” said Youn during his acceptance speech. “I was recognized by Westerners. It is very, very honored, especially by my fellow actors who chose me as a supporting actress.”
Meanwhile, Netflix’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” proved fruitful for the late Chadwick Boseman, as well as for Viola Davis, who faced past SAG favorites Carey Mulligan and Frances McDormand.
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“Thanks, August, for leaving a legacy for colored actors that we can savor for the rest of our lives,” said Davis, referring to playwright August Wilson.
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It was a great night for Netflix, just as its other competitor for the “The Trial of the Chicago 7” prize brought home the top prize. Written and directed by Sorkin, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” was scheduled for theatrical release by Paramount Pictures before the pandemic hit, leading to its sale to Netflix. The streamer is still chasing his first Oscar win for best picture.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.