Everything Everywhere All at Once dominates Sag Awards, setting stage for Oscars

There were also accolades for The White Lotus and Brendan Fraser, who won best actor for his performance in The Whale

From left: Harry Shum Jr, Jenny Slate, Andy Le, Tallie Medel, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong, Stephanie Hsu, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michelle Yeoh and Brian Le, won best ensemble at the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards. Reuters

Jamie Lee Curtis won best female supporting actor for Everything Everywhere All at Once. AP

Sally Field accepted the Sag lifetime achievement award from Andrew Garfield. AFP

The cast of The White Lotus won the award for best ensemble in a drama series. AP

Jason Bateman won best actor in a drama series for his work in Ozark. AP

From left: Chris Perfetti, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tyler James Williams, Quinta Brunson, Janelle James, Lisa Ann Walter and Stanford Davis won best ensemble in comedy series for Abbott Elementary. AP

Jeremy Allen White won best actor in a comedy series for The Bear. AP

Jessica Chastain won best actress in a TV movie or limited series for George and Tammy. AP

Brendan Fraser won best actor for The Whale. AP

Jennifer Coolidge won best actress in a drama series for The White Lotus. AP

Michelle Yeoh with her best actress and best ensemble awards for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Reuters

Christopher McDonald accepted the award for best actress in a comedy series on behalf of his co-star Jean Smart for Hacks. AP

Ke Huy Quan won best male supporting actor for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Reuters

Dimension-hopping adventure Everything Everywhere All at Once nabbed the top honour at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, cementing its status as the front-runner for the prestigious Best Picture prize at next month's Oscars.

The film, about Evelyn Wang, a Chinese-American launderette owner struggling to finish her taxes amid family turmoil, has claimed a pile of trophies in recent weeks at the Hollywood awards ceremonies leading up to the Academy Awards on March 12.

On Sunday, the cast of Everything Everywhere All at Once was named best film ensemble by members of the Sag-Aftra acting union. Sag Awards winners are closely watched because actors comprise the largest group of voters for the Oscars.

The science-fiction film also earned awards for Michelle Yeoh, who portrays Evelyn, and supporting actors Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis.

An overwhelmed Yeoh spoke through tears as she accepted her trophy. "This is not just for me. This is for every little girl that looks like me," she said. "Thank you for giving me a seat at the table."

Quan — who as a child star had a featured role in 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, but had given up on acting for years — said he was the first Asian to win in the category.

Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh speak onstage during the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Reuters

"When I stepped away from acting it was because there were so few opportunities," the Vietnamese-American actor said. "The landscape looks so different now than before. Thank you to everyone in this room who contributed to these changes."

When the cast took to the stage for the ensemble award, Yeoh handed the microphone to James Hong, 94, who plays her father in the film.

In the early days of his career, Hong recounted, producers said, "Asians were not good enough. And they are not box office. But look at us now."

Everything Everywhere All at Once scored the top accolades at the Directors, and Producers Guild of America Awards. The film also is a commercial success, selling more than $107 million worth of tickets worldwide. It is the highest-grossing movie ever for film distributor A24.

The Sag Award for best actor went to Brendan Fraser for playing a reclusive, severely obese man trying to reconnect with his daughter in The Whale.

An emotional Fraser said his younger self "never would have believed that I would have been offered the role of my life", Charlie, the man in The Whale who "is on a raft of regrets in a sea of hope".

"I've been on that sea and I've rode that wave," he said.

Sally Field accepts the life achievement award, in recognition of her near six-decade career. AP

In television categories, the cast of Abbott Elementary, a mockumentary about teachers at an underfunded school in Philadelphia, won best TV comedy ensemble.

The White Lotus cast landed the drama series award for the show's second season, set in Italy, about wealthy holidaymakers and the staff who serve them at a ritzy resort.

Sally Field, 76, received a lifetime achievement award for an acting career that began nearly 60 years ago with TV hits Gidget and The Flying Nun before an Oscar-winning film run that took her from Norma Rae to Steel Magnolias to Forrest Gump to Lincoln.

She said: "There is not a day that I don’t feel quietly thrilled to call myself an actor."

Scroll through the images below of the best-dressed stars at this year's Sag Awards below

Zendaya wears custom Valentino to the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards. Reuters

Jessica Chastain wears Zuhair Murad. AFP

Li Jun Li wears Fendi. AFP

Amanda Seyfried wears Prada. AFP

Viola Davis wears Valentino. AFP

Cate Blanchett wears an Armani Prive gown that she previously wore on red carpets in 2014 and 2018. AFP

Michelle Yeoh wears Schiaparelli. AFP

Aubrey Plaza wears Michael Kors. AP

Jenny Slate wears Zuhair Murad. AFP

Austin Butler wears Gucci. AFP

Emily Blunt wears Oscar de la Renta and her husband, John Krasinski, wears Dolce & Gabbana. AFP

Jenna Ortega wears vintage Versace. AFP

Angela Bassett wears Giambattista Valli. AFP

Danielle Deadwyler wears Louis Vuitton. AFP

Paul Mescal wears a black suit with a sheer embellished jacket. AFP

Michelle Williams wears Dior. AP

Eddie Redmayne wears Saint Laurent. AFP

Andrew Garfield wears Valentino. AFP

Diego Calva wears Gucci. Getty Images

Stephanie Hsu wears Carolina Herrera. AFP

Claire Foy wears Prada. AP

Julia Garner wears Gucci. AFP

Sheryl Lee Ralph wears Tadashi Shoji. AFP

Cara Delevingne wears Carolina Herrera. AFP

Ariana DeBose wears Prabal Gurung. AP

Harry Shum Jr wears head-to-toe black. AP

Kathryn Newton wears Carolina Herrera. AFP

Haley Lu Richardson wears Carolina Herrera. AFP

James Marsden wears Dolce & Gabbana. AFP

Jennifer Coolidge wears Saint Laurent. AFP

Quinta Brunson wears Jean-Louis Sabaji. AFP

Fran Drescher wears Naeem Khan. AFP

Meghann Fahy wears Ralph Lauren. AFP

Rhea Seehorn wears Naeem Khan. AFP

Ayo Edebiri wears Emilia Wickstead. AFP

Niecy Nash wears Vera Wang. AFP

Janelle James wears Rodarte. AFP

Barry Keoghan wears Louis Vuitton. Getty Images

Sheila Atim wears Christopher John Rogers. Getty Images

Will Sharpe wears Ferragamo. Getty Images

Theo James wears Louis Vuitton. Getty Images

A close-up look at Zendaya's Bulgari jewellery. AFP