Squid Game, Will Smith among winners at unpredictable SAG Awards

In an upset, the deaf family drama CODA took top honors at a very unpredictable 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards that also saw wins for the leads of Squid Game, the cast of Ted Lasso and Will Smith.

The ceremony, held Sunday at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., and broadcast on both TNT and TBS, was notably border-breaking, with historic wins for deaf actors, Korean stars and some of Hollywood's biggest names. It culminated with CODA, Sian Heder's heartwarming Apple TV+ coming-of-age film and Sundance Film Festival sensation, winning best ensemble.

"This validates the fact that we, deaf actors, can work just like anybody else. We look forward to more opportunities for deaf actors," signed Marlee Matlin on stage before teaching the crowd sign language for "I love you."

Matlin is the only deaf actor to win an Oscar, but her CODA co-star, Troy Kotsur, may be in line to join her. Kotsur won best supporting actor Sunday, becoming the first deaf actor win an individual SAG award. The 53-year-old veteran actor plunged his head into his hands when his name was read. On stage, he thanked his wife for "reminding me to check my fly before walking the red carpet."

Netflix's Squid Game, the first non-English language series nominated by the actors guild, came on strong with three awards, including best stunt ensemble. Lee Jung-jae won best male actor in a drama series and Jung Ho-yeon won best female actor in a drama series. Those wins came over the likes of Succession stars Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong, and Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston of The Morning Show.

"I have sat many a times watching you on the big screen dreaming of one day becoming an actor," Jung told the crowd, fighting back tears.

Still, HBO's Succession ultimately reigned in the best drama series category. Cox fittingly accepted the award with an expletive printed on his face mask, and another uttered as he struggled to take it off. But Cox turned serious when discussing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In the evening's bluntest remarks on the invasion, he noted that the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was a comic. He urged censored dissenters in Russia to speak out.

"The people in Russia who don't like what's going on — and particularly the artists — I think we should join and celebrate them and hope that they can make a shift, as I believe they can," said Cox while the audience stood and applauded.

The SAG Awards are considered one of the most reliable predictors of the Academy Awards — actors make up the largest percentage of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Their picks often align — in 2020, when the cast of Parasite and Brad Pitt won, they matched exactly.

And that may mean Will Smith, star of the Williams family tennis drama King Richard, is heading for his first Oscar. Smith won for best actor.

"That may have been one of the greatest moments of my career just now because my name was called for King Richard sitting next to Venus Williams," said Smith.

Kotsur's win suggested he may have emerged as the Oscar favourite over the competition, notably Kodi Smit-McPhee of The Power of the Dog. Meanwhile, Ariana DeBose of West Side Story confirmed her frontrunner status with a win Sunday for best supporting performance by a female actor.

"It's taken me a long time to feel comfortable calling myself an actor," said DeBose. "My roots come from the dance world and the Broadway stage, and the Anita that we see on screen took every bit of me but she took 10 years to make."

Best actress has been a more difficult category to track. Many have seen Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter) as the favourite to win her second Oscar. Often, those snubbed have drawn the focus. Kristen Stewart of Spencer was passed over by SAG, while Lady Gaga (House of Gucci) missed with the film academy.