The papal thriller “Conclave” won the top prize at the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night, thwarting a guild sweep by “Anora,” which had previously scored big wins earlier this month at ceremonies thrown by the producers, directors and writers guilds.
The last three winners of SAG’s top prize — “Oppenheimer,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and “CODA” — all went on to win best picture at the Oscars. Some of those had been season-long sweepers, unlike “Conclave,” which can boast only one other best-picture award, from the BAFTAs. Still, the win indicates that the Oscar race remains fluid leading up to the March 2 ceremony.
SAG’s lead-actor race produced an upset victory, too, as “A Complete Unknown” star Timothée Chalamet finally nabbed a prize for his portrayal of Bob Dylan; the award had gone all season to Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”). “I’m really in pursuit of greatness,” Chalamet said when accepting his award. “I know people don’t usually talk like that, but I want to be one of the greats,” he added.
Over the last three years, every individual acting winner at SAG has gone on to repeat at the Oscars except last year’s SAG winner Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), who lost the best-actress Oscar to Emma Stone (“Poor Things”).
This year’s best-actress battle is even more competitive, with “The Substance” lead Demi Moore and the “Anora” actress Mikey Madison trading industry prizes all season. And although the Golden Globe winner Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here”) was not nominated at the SAG Awards, she has nevertheless mounted a late surge with many Oscar voters I’ve spoken to, who have just gotten around to watching her movie.
At the SAG Awards, it was Moore who triumphed. As she did at the Golden Globes in January, she gave a galvanizing speech that she dedicated to “that little girl who didn’t believe in herself.” As she grew emotional, Moore closed with, “The words are kind of beyond me. So I’m just going to have to say thank you.”
In SAG’s supporting races, prizes went to Zoe Saldaña (“Emilia Pérez”) and Kieran Culkin (“A Real Pain”) who have swept their categories all season and are the prohibitive favorites at the Oscars.
“Believe it or not, this actually means a lot to me,” Culkin said, after riffing at length about the weight of the SAG statuette and the self-seriousness of his fellow actors. “It’s hard to be sincere here. Or in general.”
But evincing sincerity was not an issue for Jane Fonda, who accepted her lifetime achievement award with an overtly political rallying cry to those in the room.
“This is it, and it’s not a rehearsal,” the 87-year-old actress said. “And we mustn’t for a moment kid ourselves about what’s happening.”
Here is the complete list of SAG winners.
Film
Outstanding Cast
“Conclave”
Read a review.
Actor in a Lead Role
Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”
Actress in a Lead Role
Demi Moore, “The Substance”
Read an interview.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”
Read an interview.
Actress in a Supporting Role
Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”
Read an interview.
Stunt Ensemble in a Movie
“The Fall Guy”
Television
Ensemble in a Drama Series
“Shogun”
Ensemble in a Comedy Series
“Only Murders in the Building”
Actor in a Drama Series
Hiroyuki Sanada, “Shogun”
Actress in a Drama Series
Anna Sawai, “Shogun”
Actor in a Comedy Series
Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
Actress in a Comedy Series
Jean Smart, “Hacks”
Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series
Colin Farrell, “The Penguin”
Actress in a TV Movie or Limited Series
Jessica Gunning, “Baby Reindeer”
Stunt Ensemble in a TV Series
“Shogun”