SAG Awards 2023 WINNERS: Thespians honored on film and television’s big night

Everything Everywhere All At Once nearly swept the film categories at the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night as Michele Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Ke Huy Quan were all recognized with Brendan Fraser enjoying his comeback moment with a tearful speech as he earned top honor.

The  American absurdist comedy-drama film also earned the top award of the night Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the very end of the night.

The film beat out star-studded casts including: Babylon, The Banshees Of Inisherin, The Fabelmans, and Women Talking.

Yeoh, Curtis, and Quan all gave brief speeches before allowing ‘patriarch and friend’ James Hong to take the mic for most of the final acceptance speech.

The 94-year-old acting legend said: ‘I got my first SAG card 70 years ago. My first movie was with Clark Gable but back in those days I have to tell you the leading role was played by guys with their eyes taped up and they talked like this because the producer said Asians are not good enough and they are not box office, but look at us now, huh?

‘We’re not all Chinese but Jamie Lee is a good Chinese name… I feel very akin to her and I’ve never had such a good time as I did with these jerks on the movie.’

The film is centered around a middle-aged Chinese immigrant named Evelyn Wang (played by Yeoh) who is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led. 

Yeoh, 60, became the first ever Asian actress to earn Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role as she triumphed over: Cate Blanchett -Tar, Viola Davis – The Woman King, Ana de Armas – Blonde, and Danielle Deadwyler – Till.

She said: ‘SAG-AFTRA, to get this from you, who understands what it is to get here, everyone of you know the journey, the roller-coaster ride, the ups sand downs.

‘But important, we never give up. I thank you for your love, for your support because I know I’m up against titans, rightly so.’

Earlier in the night Jamie Lee Curtis, 64, planted a big smooch on Yeoh shortly after her name was announced as the winner of Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

Curtis won over an impressive field including: Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Hong Chau – The Whale,  Kerry Condon – The Banshees of Inisherin, and Stephanie Hsu – Everything Everywhere All At Once.

In the film Curtis portrays Deirdre Beaubeirdre, an IRS inspector in addition to several other versions of Deirdre in alternate universes. 

During her touching acceptance speech, the daughter of actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh owned her ‘nepo baby’ title.

She said: ‘I know you look at me and think “Nepo baby,” and I totally get it! “But I’m 64 years old and this is just amazing.’

Meanwhile castmate Ke Huy Quan earned Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for the same American absurdist comedy-drama film.

 The 51-year-old actor got emotional as he revealed that he was the first Asian male actor to ever win the award.

Jessica Chastain took home Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series for her role in George & Tammy.

The 45-year-old Oscar-winner beat an impressive field which included: Emily Blunt – The English, Julia Garner – Inventing Anna, Niecy Nash-Betts Dahmer – Monster, and Amanda Seyfried – The Dropout. 

Chastain shared a touching story as she recalled attending an acting class with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman which he ended very inspirationally by saying: ‘I look forward to working with each of you.’

She explained during her acceptance speech: ‘It was like he brought it into being and a few years later, I had the opportunity to do a play with him. And I’m telling the story now, because it reminds me of how powerful our mind is, and that we are what our thoughts create. 

‘I just want to tell everyone who might be struggling at home, to all the actors that I get to meet: Keep going. You’re one job away. I look forward to working with you. I’ll see you on set.’

The biographical film she starred in was an intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker as she played the titular role.

Sam Elliott came next as he earned Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series for 1883.

The 78-year-old acting veteran beat out: Steve Carell – The Patient, Taron Egerton – Black Bird, Paul Walter Hauser – Black Bird, and Evan Peters – Dahmer – Monster.

Elliott joked that he would be the only one who wrote his speech as he said he did not expect to win.

He explained: ‘What can I say in 45 seconds after just receiving the most meaningful acknowledgment of my 55-year career?

‘From a group of my peers, many of whom I don’t even know or know only from afar, as a fan who respects their work, I can say thank you and that I’m honored and grateful to be in your company.’ 

The event began with a hilarious backstage sketch featuring Steve Martin and Martin Short backstage. 

They get in a bit of a verbal tiff as they are both nominated in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series against one another as Selena Gomez later popped in to serve as peacemaker. 

Later on Niecy Nash, Bob Odenkirk, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Abbott’s Elementary stars Janelle James and Quinta Brunson did the iconic ‘I am an actor’ monologues which are featured at the beginning of every show. 

Janelle and Quinta later hit the stage to make a few jokes and kick off a highlight reel featuring the biggest moments in film and television.

The 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards are taking place at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City, California and will be broadcast live on Netflix‘s YouTube channel.

The Banshees Of Inisherin and Everything Everywhere All At Once were among the most nominated feature films.

Among the television nominees, Better Call Saul and Ozark scored several nods.

The Banshees Of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh’s film about two Irish men’s fractured friendship among that country’s civil war, earned a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, along with individual nods for Colin Farrell in the lead male actor category and Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan in the supporting male category.

Kerry Condon was also nominated in the supporting female actor category.

The Michelle Yeoh–starring Everything Everywhere All At Once, which has grossed more than $100 million against just a $14 million budget, was also a hit with SAG voters.

Yeoh, who scored a major career comeback with Everything Everywhere All At Once, was nominated for lead female actor.

Ke Huy Quan, best known as a child actor in Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom and The Goonies, cemented his return to Hollywood with a nomination for supporting male actor.

Stephanie Hsu, who plays the actors’ daughter in the film, was nominated in the supporting female actor category, as was Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays a villainous IRS agent.

Another comeback film, the Darren Aronofsky–directed drama The Whale, scored a lead nomination for its star Brendan Fraser, while his costar Hong Chau was nominated in the supporting female actor category.

Ana de Armas, who was nominated at the previous night’s Golden Globe Awards ceremony for her fictional Marilyn Monroe film Blonde, scored another nomination for the controversial drama. 

Other nominees for feature films included Angela Bassett for supporting female actress for her Marvel superhero film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Eddie Redmayne was a surprise supporting male actor nominee for his creepy performance in The Good Nurse, and Adam Sandler scored a lead male actor nomination for Hustle, despite the film barely having an awards season profile.

There was more variety in the male and female lead actor categories, with several nominees being the only representatives of their films.

Cate Blanchett’s acclaimed performance in Tár was recognized, as was Viola Davis for The Woman King and Danielle Deadwyler for the Civil Rights Movement drama Till.

Austin Butler scored a lead male actor nomination for playing the title role in the music biopic Elvis, while Bill Nighy scored a nomination for the drama Living.

The Fabelmans, which won Best Picture, Drama, award at the Golden Globes, was nominated for the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture category, while Paul Dano was nominated in the supporting actor category for playing a fictionalized version of director Steven Spielberg’s father.

Despite not receiving any individual nominations, the early Hollywood dramedy Babylon and Women Talking both received nominations for their full casts. 

Among the television nominees, Ozark scored several nods. Jason Bateman and Laura Linney were both nominated in the lead categories, as was their costar Julia Garner.

Garner also received a second nod in the limited series category for her work in Inventing Anna.

Better Call Saul received several nominations for lead actors Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks in the same category, along with the ensemble award.

Adam Scott was nominated for his performance in Apple’s Severance, and the show also received an ensemble nomination.

Elizabeth Debicki’s nomination for playing Princess Diana on The Crown wasn’t exactly a surprise, but Jeff Bridge’s nomination for The Old Man flew under the radar. 

The awards favorite The White Lotus earned two nominations, one for actress Jennifer Coolidge and one for the whole ensemble cast.

Only Murders In The Building did well among the comedy series nominees with nods for stars Steve Martin and Martin Short in the male actor category, along with a full cast nod.

Quinta Brunson, who won a Golden Globe for Abbott Elementary, was nominated for the series along with the rest of the cast in the ensemble category. 

Barry scored ensemble and individual nominations for stars Bill Hader and Anthony Carrigan. 

Other ensemble nominees included The Bear (which also got a nomination for star Jeremy Allen White) and Hacks (which got an additional nod for its star Jean Smart).

Christina Applegate and Rachel Brosnahan rounded out the female nominees for Dead To Me and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, respectively.

Television movies and limited series actors were also honored, though only with individual nominations.

Taron Egerton and Golden Globe winner Paul Walter Hauser scored nods for Blackbird, while Evan Peters and Niecy Nash were both nominated for the chilling thriller Dahmer.

Sam Elliott’s work on the Yellowstone prequel 1883 was also recognized, as were Emily Blunt for The English and Amanda Seyfried for The Dropout.

Rounding out the A-lister nominations in the categories were Oscar winner Jessica Chastain for George And Tammy and Steve Carrell for the thriller The Patient. 

 The event will also be honoring acting legend Sally Field with the SAG Life Achievement Award for her work spanning over five decades earning over 70 acting credits.

The 76-year-old actress who exclaimed, ‘You like me! Right now! You like me!’ when she won her second Oscar for Best Actress in 1984’s Places in the Heart, is no stranger to Hollywood honors. Field has won Best Actress twice as she also scored for 1984’s Places In The Heart.

The talented actress has also won the SAG Award in the Outstanding Actress in a Drama series category for Brothers & Sisters. She has been nominated a total of 8 times.

Field has also received three Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and nominations for a Tony Award and two British Academy Film Awards. 

There will also be plenty of A-list presenters including Zendaya and Ariana DeBose who is hot off of her viral BAFTAs rap.

Also presenting will be Aubrey Plaza, Jenna Ortega, Amy Poehler, Eugene Levy, Jason Bateman, Jeff Bridges, Adam Scott, and Matt Bomer in addition to SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher.