Hollywood’s biggest stars were back together in the room where it happens for the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards — and some history was made as the mostly deaf cast of Apple TV+’s dramedy about a child of deaf adults, “CODA,” clinched the top prize.
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Original “Hamilton” cast members Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs set the tone for Sunday’s ceremony at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., with a light-hearted opening segment celebrating the show’s return to a live, in-person format amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Together again, finally,” Odom said. “We return to a world where all we have to do to hang out like this is get dressed up, show up, get swabbed, sanitized, screened, masked, vaccinated, boosted, rapid tested and PCR-cleared within 48 hours. Now who’s ready to party?”
The “Hamilton” trio later returned to announce the night’s biggest honor, with the heartfelt “CODA” winning best performance by a cast in a motion picture.
Speaking through an ASL interpreter, Marlee Matlin, who played the deaf mom to a teenage hearing girl, spoke on deaf representation in movies.
“This validates the fact that we, deaf actors, can work just like anybody else. We look forward to more opportunities for deaf actors,” Matlin signed, before teaching the audience how to sign “I love you.”
Earlier in the ceremony, “CODA” star Troy Kotsur became the first deaf actor to win an individual SAG Awards trophy. He was named best supporting actor in a film for his performance as the family patriarch.
Sunday’s 28th Annual SAG Awards was wildly different from last year’s edition, which was pre-taped and shortened to an hour due to the pandemic.
“We’re following the most up-to-date safety guidelines tonight, and if anyone breaks the rules, our COVID-compliance officers are the guards from ‘Squid Game,'” Diggs deadpanned during the opening segment, referring to Netflix’s hit South Korean drama series.
“Squid Game,” which centers on a deadly competition, was a major winner at Sunday’s ceremony, taking home three trophies. Lee Jung-Jae won best actor in a drama series, and Jung Ho-Yeon won best actress in the genre.
Will Smith won the first SAG honor of his career when he was named best actor in a movie for his portrayal of Venus and Serena Williams’ eccentric father in “King Richard.” Jessica Chastain, who starred as the title televangelist in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” won best actress in a movie.
And Ariana DeBose, an original member of the “Hamilton” ensemble, won the SAG trophy for best supporting actress after dazzling as Anita in the Steven Spielberg-directed “West Side Story.”
“It’s taken a long time for me to feel comfortable calling myself an actor,” DeBose said. “My roots come from the dance world and the Broadway stage, and the Anita that we see on the screen took every bit of me.”
On the TV side of the award show, “Ted Lasso” won best performance by an ensemble in a comedy series, with star Jason Sudeikis also winning best actor in the genre for his portrayal of an upbeat soccer coach.
“Succession,” about a family fighting for control of their media empire, won best performance by an ensemble in a drama series. As the cast accepted the honor, star Brian Cox earned a standing ovation for a stirring speech about censorship in Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The thing that’s really distressed me is what’s happening in Russia, to my fellow actors and actresses and performers, and writers and critics, they are told under pain of high treason that they cannot say a word about Ukraine,” Cox said. “And I think that is pretty awful. And I think we should all stand together.”
Michael Keaton won best actor in limited series or movie for his role on Hulu’s “Dopesick,” which explored America’s struggle with opioid addiction. The veteran actor was in the restroom when his name was announced, leading to presenter Salma Hayek to look around the room for a good minute before he ran up, rolled on the stage and gave his acceptance speech. He broke down in tears as he remembered his nephew Michael, who died from fentanyl, a prescription opioid, and heroin abuse.
Helen Mirren, a five-time SAG Awards winner and 13-time nominee, was honored Sunday as the event’s lifetime achievement award honoree.
Sunday’s show marked the first in-person SAG Awards since 1997 that didn’t take place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.