The 29th annual SAG Awards, at which actors honor their peers, is set for 5 p.m. PT/ 8 p.m. ET Feb. 26. While the ceremony will take place at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, the show will be livestreamed on Netflix’s YouTube channel for all to watch. Variety offers a primer on the kudos and what they portend for other awards.
Film Categories
How do the SAG Awards line up with Oscars?
Unlike most other kudos bodies, the SAG Awards actually overlap with Academy voters. This is one reason the SAG Awards are often seen as a major precursor to which actors will take home Oscar gold. Last year, the acting categories matched up perfectly between the two shows with all four SAG Award winners taking home Academy Awards. Many point to Jessica Chastain’s lead female actor SAG Award win for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” as a turning point in the race. In 29 years, all four winners have matched perfectly eight times. A three out-of-four matchup is more common, having happened 11 times before.
How closely do film nominations match this year?
While winners tend to match up, there have been situations in which an actor won a SAG Award but was not nominated for an Oscar — this happened to Idris Elba, who won male actor in a supporting role for 2015’s “Beasts of No Nation.” And sometimes the Oscar winner misses at the SAG Awards — most recently Regina King went on to win an Academy Award for 2018’s “If Beale Street Could Talk” despite missing out on a SAG Award nomination.
This year finds nominations lining up perfectly in only one category — all the nominees for female actor in a supporting role are also Oscar-nominated. They are Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”), Hong Chau (“The Whale”), Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) and both Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”).
In male actor in a leading role, there is a four out of five match between the two bodies with Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Colin Farrell (“Banshees”), Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) and Bill Nighy (“Living”). But Adam Sandler, who was recognized by SAG-AFTRA voters for his work in “Hustle,” didn’t make the cut at the Oscars. Instead, Paul Mescal earned his first nomination for his performance in “Aftersun.”
Both female actor in a leading role and male actor in a supporting role have a three out of five match. For male supporting, Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan (“Banshees”) and Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere”) snagged noms from both voters. Paul Dano is SAG Award-nominated for “The Fabelmans” but his co-star Judd Hirsch is nominated at the Oscars. And “The Good Nurse” star Eddie Redmayne received a SAG Award nom but wasn’t recognized by the Academy, whose voters opted for Brian Tyree Henry in “Causeway.”
The three nominees matching in female lead are Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Cate Blanchett (“Tár”) and Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere”). Both Viola Davis (“The Woman King”) and Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) earned SAG Award nominations, but not Oscar. Rounding out the category at the Academy Awards will be Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”) and Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”).
Who are the ensemble nominees?
Since its second show in 1995, the SAG Awards have included an award for cast in a motion picture. In 2007, they added stunt ensemble into the mix, as well. Some perceive an ensemble win as a good sign for a film’s chances at a best picture Oscar. But while it certainly shows support, that isn’t necessarily the case. Two recent films, “Green Book” and “The Shape of Water,” won best picture without even landing a SAG Award nomination for ensemble. This year’s ensemble nominees include four films that are nominated for best picture: “Banshees,” “Everything Everywhere,” “The Fabelmans” and “Women Talking.” The fifth spot is the cast of “Babylon,” Damien Chazelle’s ode to 1920s Hollywood.
TV Categories
Why Does SAG-AFTRA matter for TV?
Although the Golden Globes returned this year after last year’s nearly nonexistent show, the voting group includes only 199 individuals. The SAG Awards set the stage a bit more for what the TV race looks like overall, as 2,500 randomly selected members of SAG-AFTRA — which includes more than 160,000 people — choose the nominees. In past years, SAG Awards have highlighted series and actors often ignored by other kudos shows as actors recognize the craft in a
different way.
A New Platform
The awards had been telecast on TNT from 1998 to 2022 and this year, everything changes. Not only will the show not air on TNT amid Warner’s changes, it actually won’t air on television at all; instead, it will stream on Netflix’s YouTube page. In 2024, it will move to the streaming service. And when it comes to the nominees, Netflix’s final season of “Ozark” leads the pack with for nominations — drama ensemble and acting noms for Jason Bateman, Laura Linney and Julia Garner.
Will ‘White Lotus’ category change lead to a big win?
When “White Lotus” competed in the limited series category last year, Season 1 stars Jennifer Coolidge and Murray Bartlett lost to Kate Winslet and Michael Keaton, respectively. This time, the show has moved to drama due to Coolidge’s return — and could mean that she’ll take home the female actor category. It won’t be an easy race, as she goes head-to-head against Elizabeth Debicki (“The Crown”), Julia Garner (“Ozark”), Laura Linney (“Ozark”) and fan-favorite Zendaya (“Euphoria”). Somehow, no one else from “White Lotus” received solo nominations, but since it moved to drama, it’s eligible in the ensemble race for the first time. If there’s ever a time to award an ensemble, it’s now. Mike White’s sophomore season is led by Coolidge, F. Murray Abraham, Meghann Fahy, Jon Gries, Sabrina Impacciatore, Michael Imperioli, Theo James, Aubrey Plaza, Haley Lu Richardson and Will Sharpe, among others.
A Happy Surprise
One thing that SAG-AFTRA voters often do well is recognize the talent that isn’t highlighted elsewhere. When FX’s “The Patient” came out, it didn’t make a big splash but critics recognized just how impressive and unique Steve Carell’s performance was. He previously earned nominations for “The Morning Show” and “The Office” (six times) and is now up for lead actor in a limited series or TV movie. It isn’t an easy category by far as he goes up against Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser for “Black Bird,” Sam Elliott for “1883” and Evan Peters for “Dahmer.” Due to the supporting categories at the Golden Globes, both Peters and Walter Hauser took home trophies for “Dahmer” and “Black Bird,” respectively.
Is ‘The Bear’ a Beast?
“The Bear” didn’t do a giant press tour before its released via FX on Hulu. However, the moment it dropped, the series became a watercooler hit, with Jeremy Allen White taking home the Globe and the Critics Choice trophies. This time, he could do the same at SAG Awards, especially since the others could cancel each other out. He’s nominated with “Barry” co-stars Anthony Carrigan and Bill Hader as well as “Only Murders in the Building” leads Steve Martin and Martin Short.
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