Michael B. Jordan and Jessie Buckley strengthened their positions as Oscar frontrunners after winning top honours at this year’s Actors awards.
The ceremony, previously known as the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards, chooses winners based on votes by its 1,60,000 members.
Jordan took home the best lead male actor award for his double role in the acclaimed vampire thriller Sinners, beating hotly tipped favourite Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme).
On stage, he paid tribute to director and longtime collaborator Ryan Coogler, and to the “love and support” from fellow performers who had watched him grow up in the spotlight. The weekend also saw Jordan pick up the NAACP Image Awards entertainer and actor of the year honours.
Sinners also won the big screen ensemble award. The cast includes Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku. “This project is anointed and from that standpoint, we’re all anointed to be part of this incredible journey,” Lindo said on behalf of the cast.
Buckley continued her awards-season run, following victories at the Bafta Film Awards and Golden Globe Awards, by winning best lead female actor for her role in Hamnet, directed by Chloé Zhao. She beat Emma Stone and Rose Byrne. “I have been categorically changed by so many people in this room and beyond,” she said.
In supporting actor categories, Sean Penn was named best supporting male actor for One Battle After Another, adding to a Bafta win last weekend. He was not present at the event to accept the award in person.
A surprise came in the supporting female actor race, in which Amy Madigan won for her role in Weapons, beating favourite Teyana Taylor. “It’s such an honour to be here, I’ve been doing this for a long ass time,” she said, adding, “As you can tell, I’m nervous and overwhelmed and just so happy.”
In the television segment, Apple’s satirical series The Studio dominated the comedy categories after major wins at the Emmys and Golden Globes. It secured three trophies, including comedy ensemble, defeating previous winners The Bear and Only Murders in the Building.
Co-creator Seth Rogen was named best male actor in a comedy series, edging out co-star Ike Barinholtz. The late Catherine O’Hara, who died in January, received a rare posthumous award for her performance.
The drama ensemble award went to the cast of medical drama The Pitt. The series beat The White Lotus and Severance. “I’ve never been more proud of a group of people in my life,” star Noah Wyle said. “We’re so grateful for this, I can’t even tell you.”
Wyle, who previously won four times in the 1990s with the ensemble of ER, was also named best male actor in a drama series and used his speech to praise the work of labour unions.
Netflix’s hit drama Adolescence extended its awards run with a win for Owen Cooper as best male actor in a limited series, making him, at 16, the youngest winner in the category after Emmy and Golden Globe victories.
Michelle Williams won best female actor in a limited series for her role in Dying for Sex, beating Cooper’s co-star Erin Doherty. It marked her second Actors award, after winning for Fosse/Verdon in 2020.
In the drama series female actor category, Keri Russell scored a surprise first-time win for The Diplomat, defeating Rhea Seehorn of Pluribus, as well as Parker Posey and Aimee Lou Wood from The White Lotus.
Veteran actor Harrison Ford received the life achievement award, presented by Woody Harrelson, who described him as “a true renaissance man”.
The ceremony aired live on Netflix and was hosted by Kristen Bell.