Parasite has officially infected this year’s award season. Bong Joon Ho’s Korean film became the first foreign language film to take top honours from the Screen Actors Guild on Sunday, setting itself up as a legitimate best-picture contender to the front-runner 1917 at next month’s Academy Awards.
The win, over the starry productions likes of Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood and The Irishman was a surprise, but only to a degree. The audience at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, greeted the victory for “Parasite” with a standing ovation.
Because actors make up the largest percentage of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, their picks are closely watched as an Academy Awards harbinger.
But the last two years, the SAG ensemble winner has not gone on to win best picture: Black Panther last year and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in 2018. And this year’s front-runner, 1917, more acclaimed for its technical acumen, wasn’t nominated by the screen actors.
On Saturday, 1917 won top honours at the highly predictive Producers Guild Awards. In 21 of the last 30 years, the PGA winner has lined up with the eventual best picture winner.
One reunion trumped all others at the SAG Awards, where both Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston took home awards and celebrated each other’s wins.
Pitt is headed toward his first acting Academy Award for his supporting performance in Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, and he added to his front-runner status with a win from the actors’ guild. Along the way, his speeches have been full of one-liners, and he didn’t disappoint Sunday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
Pitt, who said he was nursing a flu, looked down at his award and said, “I’ve got to add this to my Tinder profile”.
“Let’s be honest, it was a difficult part. A guy who gets high, takes his shirt off and doesn’t get on with his wife, joked Pitt. It was a big stretch.” The audience laughed and clapped, including — as the cameras captured — Aniston, his ex-wife.
Aniston later won an award of her own for best female actor in a drama series for the Apple TV Plus show The Morning Show. “What!” she said upon reaching the stage. Aniston finished her speech with a shout-out to her Murder Mystery co-star Adam Sandler, whose performance in Uncut Gems has gone mostly unrewarded this season despite considerable acclaim.
“Your performance is extraordinary and your magic is real. I love you, buddy,” said Aniston.
Backstage, Pitt watched Aniston’s acceptance speech. After she got off stage, they warmly congratulated each other on their first individual SAG Awards.
Along with Pitt, all the Oscar favourites kept their momentum, including wins for Renee Zellweger (Judy), Joaquin Phoenix (Phoenix) and Laura Dern (Marriage Story).
As expected, Phoenix took best performance by a male actor. After individually praising each fellow nominee, Phoenix concluded with a nod to his Joker predecessor. “I’m standing here on the shoulders of my favourite actor, Heath Ledger,” said Phoenix.
Dern also further established herself as the best supporting actress favourite with a win from the actors guild. On her way to the stage, she hugged her father, Bruce Dern (part of the Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood ensemble).
Phoebe Waller-Bridge continued her awards sweep for Fleabag, a winner at the Emmys and the Golden Globes. Waller-Bridge added a SAG win for best female actor in a comedy series and took a moment to reflect on the show’s parade of accolades.
“This whole thing really has been a dream, and if I wake up tomorrow and discover it was just that, then thank you,” said Waller-Bridge. “It’s been the most beautiful dream.”
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel also continued its streak, winning best comedy series ensemble for the second straight year, along with Tony Shalhoub taking home the statue for best male actor in a comedy series. But accepting the ensemble award, the show’s shocked Alex Borstein said she had voted for Fleabag.
“Honestly this makes no sense,” said Borstein. “Fleabag is brilliant.”
Robert De Niro was given the guild’s lifetime achievement award, an honour presented by Leonardo DiCaprio who, like De Niro, is a frequent leading man for Martin Scorsese. (The two co-star in Scorsese’s upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon. ) A raucous standing ovation greeted the 76-year-old actor.
De Niro, a fiery critic of Donald Trump, referenced the president in his remarks.
“There’s right and there’s wrong. And there’s common sense and there’s abuse of power. As a citizen, I have as much right as anybody — an actor, an athlete, anybody else — to voice my opinion,” said De Niro. “And if I have a bigger voice because of my situation, I’m going to use it whenever I see a blatant abuse of power.”
Game of Thrones closed out its eight-season run with wins for Peter Dinklage for best male actor in a drama series and for best stunt ensemble work. The Crown took best ensemble in a drama series. And both Fosse/Verdon stars — Michelle Williams and Sam Rockwell — won for their performances in the miniseries.
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
Bombshell
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
WINNER: Parasite
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Lupita Nyong’o, Us
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
WINNER: Renée Zellweger, Judy
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Christian Bale, Ford v Ferrari
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Taron Egerton, Rocketman
WINNER: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
Mahershala Ali, True Detective
Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice
Jared Harris, Chernobyl
Jharrel Jerome, When They See Us
WINNER: Sam Rockwell, Fosse/Verdon
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
Big Little Lies
WINNER: The Crown
Game of Thrones
The Handmaid’s Tale
Stranger Things
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Steve Carell, The Morning Show
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
WINNER: Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
David Harbour, Stranger Things
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Robert De Niro
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
WINNER: Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
WINNER: Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon
Patricia Arquette, The Act
Joey King, The Act
Emily Watson, Chernobyl
Toni Collette, Unbelievable
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
WINNER: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
Jamie Foxx, Just Mercy
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
WINNER: Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Nicole Kidman, Bombshell
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
WINNER: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Schitt’s Creek
Fleabag
The Kominsky Method
Barry
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
WINNER: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
WINNER: Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Bill Hader, Barry
Andrew Scott, Fleabag
ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
WINNER: Avengers: Endgame
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Joker
Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES
WINNER: Game of Thrones
GLOW
Stranger Things
The Walking Dead
Watchmen