Sag Awards 2022 winners list: 'Coda' and 'Squid Game' reign supreme

The 28th Sag Awards, which took place on Sunday, were notably border-breaking and unpredictable

The cast of 'Succession' backstage with their Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series trophies at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards, in Santa Monica, California. Reuters

Brian Cox with his award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for 'Succession'. AFP

Kieran Culkin with his award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for 'Succession'. AFP

Jung Ho-yeon receives the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for 'Squid Game'. Reuters

Lee Jung-Jae receives the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for 'Squid Game'. Reuters

'Squid Game' stars Lee Jung-Jae, left, and Jung Ho-yeon. AP

Troy Kotsur receives the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for 'Coda'. Reuters

'Coda' director Sian Heder and cast members Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant, Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin and Eugenio Derbez backstage after winning Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Reuters

Jason Sudeikis appears on screen to accept the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for 'Ted Lasso'. AP

Michael Keaton receives the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series for 'Dopesick'. Reuters

Jessica Chastain receives the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye'. Reuters

Jean Smart backstage with her award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for 'Hacks'. Reuters

Will Smith receives the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for 'King Richard'. Reuters

Ariana DeBose receives the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for 'West Side Story'. Reuters

Helen Mirren receives the Lifetime Achievement Award. Reuters

Kate Winslet speaks onscreen during the 28th Sag Awards. AFP

The deaf family drama Coda took top honours at an unpredictable 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards that also included wins for the leads of Squid Game, the cast of Ted Lasso and actor Will Smith.

The ceremony, held on Sunday at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and broadcast on TNT and TBS, was notably border-breaking, with historic wins for deaf actors, South Korean stars and some of Hollywood’s biggest names. It culminated with Coda, Sian Heder’s heart-warming 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,” said 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 on Sunday, becoming the first deaf actor to win an individual Sag award. When his name was read, Kotsur, 53, plunged his head into his hands. 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 Screen Actors Guild, came on strong with three awards, including Lee Jung-jae for best male actor in a drama series and Jung Ho-yeon for 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.

Actors Lee Jung-jae and Jung Ho-yeon backstage with their awards for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor and Female Actor in a Drama Series at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards. Reuters

“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 discussed the situation in Ukraine on stage. “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 Picture Arts and Sciences, and their picks often align. In 2020, when the cast of Parasite and Brad Pitt won, they matched exactly.

Though the actors guild and the academy diverged last year when Aaron Sorkin’s 1960s courtroom drama Trial of the Chicago 7 topped the Sag Awards and Nomadland triumphed at the Oscars, the win for Coda suggests it’s a major threat to win best picture over Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast (which didn't win any awards on Sunday) and Jane Campion’s leading Oscar nominee The Power of the Dog (which failed to get an ensemble nod even though three of its actors were individually nominated).

Sag’s track record may also mean Will Smith, star of the Williams family tennis drama King Richard, is heading for his first Oscar. Smith took best actor, scoring his first Sag Award.

Will Smith, won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for 'King Richard' at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. AP

“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,” beamed Smith.

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. In an especially competitive category, those snubbed have often drawn the most focus. Kristen Stewart of Spencer was passed over, while Lady Gaga (House of Gucci) missed with the film academy.

Yet it was Jessica Chastain, who plays the infamous televangelist in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, who won on Sunday, notching her first individual Sag Award.

Full list of Sag Awards winners below:

FILM

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Belfast

Coda - winner

Don’t Look Up

House of Gucci

King Richard

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos

Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog

Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick... Boom!

Winner: Will Smith, King Richard

Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Winner: Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter

Lady Gaga, House of Gucci

Jennifer Hudson, Respect

Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Ben Affleck, The Tender Bar

Bradley Cooper, Licorice Pizza

Winner: Troy Kotsur, Coda

Jared Leto, House of Gucci

Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Caitriona Balfe, Belfast

Cate Blanchett, Nightmare Alley

Winner: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story

Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog

Ruth Negga, Passing

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Black Widow

Dune

The Matrix Resurrections

Winner: No Time to Die

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

The Morning Show

Winner: Succession

Squid Game

Yellowjackets

The Handmaid’s Tale

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

The Great

Hacks

The Kominsky Method

Only Murders in the Building

Winner: Ted Lasso

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

Brian Cox, Succession

Billy Crudup, The Morning Show

Winner: Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game

Jeremy Strong, Succession

Kieran Culkin, Succession

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method

Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso

Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building

Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building

Winner: Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series

Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus

Oscar Isaac, Scenes From a Marriage

Winner: Michael Keaton, Dopesick

Ewan McGregor, Halston

Evan Peters, Mare of Easttown

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show

Winner: Jung Ho-yeon, Squid Game

Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale

Sarah Snook, Succession

Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

Elle Fanning, The Great

Sandra Oh, The Chair

Winner: Jean Smart, Hacks

Juno Temple, Ted Lasso

Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series

Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus

Cynthia Erivo, Genius: Aretha

Jean Smart, Mare of Easttown

Winner: Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown

Margaret Qualley, Maid

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama

Cobra Kai

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Loki

Mare of Easttown

Winner: Squid Game

- Additional reporting by AP