Leonardo DiCaprio won best actor for his performance in The Revenant. He received a standing ovation as he accepted his award.
“I’m truly humbled by this because it comes from all of you, my fellow actors,” he said adding that after he starred in This Boy’s Life, he started watching films to soak up the history of movies.
“For any young actors out there, I encourage you to watch the history of cinema,” he said. “You realize we all stand on the shoulders of giants.”
Previous to winning his peers’ accolade, DiCaprio also won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for his performance in the same film.
Now, the question is, will he be the Oscar’s choice for the best actor as well?
Observers of the annual awards night seem cautious in answering the question. One even said that the Academy is know to spring surprises, although DiCaprio is notably a shoo-in for the honors, anything can still happen.
Meanwhile, four black actors including Idris Elba, who won twice, take home statues as Spotlight cast won the top prize.
The Screen Actors Guild awards provided a counterbalance to the much-protested lack of ethnic diversity the Oscar nominations as the actors union honored four black actors: Idris Elba, who won two awards, Viola Davis, UzoAduba and Queen Latifah.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to diverse TV,” said Elba, presenting an award after Davis’s win. The British actor won outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role for Beasts of No Nation, and outstanding performance by a male actor in a TV movie or miniseries for Luther. He has been overlooked entirely for the Oscars.
The top award went to Spotlight for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture, about the Boston Globe’s expose of a network of pedophile priests. Michael Keaton dedicated the award to “the disenfranchised everywhere, for every Flint, Michigan in the world, for the disadvantaged and the powerless”. He added: “There’s fair and there’s unfair and I’m always going to vote for the good guys.”
The TV awards saw streaming sites dominate, with Netflix’s Orange is the New Black taking two awards and Jeffrey Tambor taking outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series for his lead role as a transgender woman in Amazon’s Transparent. Tambor dedicated his award to the transgender people who don’t have the wealth and privileges of his character, “for their operations, for their medicines, for their freedom”.
Winning outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series, Davis gave arguably the most stirring speech of the night, saying: “People are always saying, ‘Wow, Annalise is an antihero. Don’t you worry she’s not likable? Don’t you worry that she’s not a mentor?’ And I always think: ‘Why do I have to be a hero? Why do you have to like me? Why do I have to be a mentor?’ My job as an actor is to create a human being to the best of my ability. Flawed, messy, maybe not always likable. Maybe not cute. But it is my job and I do it to the best of my ability and I get so much joy out of being an actor.”
Meanwhile, Alicia Vikander, who won outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role for The Danish Girl, thanked the trans community in her tearful acceptance speech, another indication of the respect for diversity that set this ceremony apart from the Oscars.
2016 SAG Award winners
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: Spotlight
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture: Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture: Brie Larson, Room
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series: Downton Abbey
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series: Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series: Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: Idris Elba, Luther
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in Television Movie or Miniseries: Queen Latifah, Bessie
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series: Orange Is the New Black
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series: UzoAduba, Orange Is the New Black
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture: Mad Max Fury Road
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series: Game of Thrones
Lifetime Achievement Award: Carol Burnett
