The S.A.G. Awards are for acting merit in various categories. They are a gift to acting union members who haven't worked enough to be admitted to "That Academy." The awards are only for acting and are voted on by the membership.
When I lived in Los Angeles, I saw a movie every week in a theater. Now, I got to a theater once or twice a year. I don't subscribe to streaming services, so I see things when I visit my sister in Maryland. It has been years since I watched television at home. They used to mail out DVDs of the nominated films and television shows to all members, some with elaborate brochures and no end date on when you could watch. Now, everything is on line, and I think we have another week or so to watch things, although the award ceremony was last night (2/24). I voted Thursday.
I saw all the "Male Actor in a Leading Role" movies and I voted for Colman Domingo, an openly gay actor, for his exuberant performance as Bayard Rustin in "Rustin." Cillian Murphy won for "Oppenheimer." All of these actors nominated are great. For me, a lot depends on what the role is, more than making a judgement about the actor.
For "Female Actor in a Leading Role" I went for Emma Stone in "Poor Things" a beautiful but seriously flawed movie. She was fearless. Lily Gladstone won for "Killers of the Flower Moon." I saw all of the nominees in these two categories.
For "Supporting Actor," I voted for Sterling K. Brown for "American Fiction," a great movie. Again, he's a Black actor playing a flamboyant gay man. Robert Downey, Jr, won for "Oppenheimer. "
For "Supporting Actress", I skipped "The Color Purple." Read the book, saw Spielberg's movie. I voted for Da'Vine Joy Randolph for "The Holdovers." I looked her up and found that she is a classically trained actress playing what could have been a stereotypical role, not at all who she is. She won.
For "Cast Performance" I voted for "Barbie" where everyone was great, especially America Ferrara and Rhea Perlman. "Oppenheimer" won.
On the TV side, I didn't see much. I watched one episode each of "Beef," "A Small Light," "The Last of Us," "The Morning Show," "The Crown," "Ted Lasso," "Barry," "The Bear" and two of "Abbott Elementary." The only "Limited Series" I watched from beginning to end was "Fellow Travelers," about two closeted gay men going from the early 1950s into the 1980s. I would have voted for Jonathan Bailey for "Best Actor in a Limited Series", but Matt Bomer was nominated, so I voted for him. Good to see an openly gay actor play a gay part, especially making the love scenes look real. On the female side, I voted for Bel Powley as Meep Gies in "A Small Light." I was blasted, emotionally, after one episode, and I didn't think I could deal with more. Ali Wong won for "Beef."
For "Drama Series" I voted for Pedro Pascal in "The Last of Us" and he won. On the female side, I voted for Elizabeth Debicki, who was absolutely charming as poor Princess Diana. She won, also.
For "Performance in A Comedy Series" I voted for Jason Sudeikis for "Ted Lasso" on the male side, and Quinta Brunson of "Abbott Elementary" on the female side. The winners were both from "The Bear," Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri. " For Ensemble I voted for "The Gilded Age," basically a lavishly-costumed soap opera in the "Drama" category, and "Abbott Elementary" on the comedy side. "The Last of Us" won on the drama side, and "The Bear" on the comedy side.
There are two awards for "Stunt Ensembles." I don't watch a lot of action movies, so I missed the "Mission Impossible", "John Wick" and "Indiana Jones" movies that came out last year, and voted for "Barbie." "Mission Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part One" was the winner. For television series, I voted for "The Last of Us" which won.
All of these award shows are a game of sorts. I'm glad I got to watch so much online, especially the television shows without commercials. And I guess it gives me some power in "Hollywood" where I never felt powerful, to vote for my favorite actors.
