The Screen Actor’s Guild Awards were held on February 27, 2022. This was the first time since before the pandemic that they were held in person and not virtually, although certain nominees still had to attend via Zoom because of COVID travel restrictions.
A particular sort of history was made early in the night, with Troy Kotsur becoming the first deaf actor to win a SAG Award. He won for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Frank Rossi in CODA. In his speech, Kotsur signed a joke that his daughter would not be allowed to use his SAG Award to hang her jewelry.
There were also some big wins for a few A-List Stars. Jessica Chastain won Best Actress for The Eyes Of Tammy Fayeinwhich she plays the titular character. Later in the night, Will Smith won Best Actor for his performance in King Richard as the father of Serena and Venus Williams. This was Smith’s first win despite his long and illustrious career. In his acceptance speech, Smith said “Richard Williams is a dreamer like no one you’ve ever known. He has a power of belief that borders on insanity and sometimes tips over the border, which is necessary to take something from impossible to possible.”
Many fans nonetheless felt there was one standout snub for a specific category. Three-time SAG Award winner Andrew Garfield was nominated for Best Actor for his role as composer Jon Larson in Netflix’s tick tick…BOOM!, directed by Lin Manuel Miranda. Many felt that his awe-inspiring take on such a figure was deserving of the award, but the SAG had different ideas.
Two shows in particular essentially cleaned out all of the television categories, with Apple TV’s Ted Lasso taking home most of the comedy awards and Netflix’s Squid Game winning most drama categories.
The most emotional moment of the night came when Hollywood legend Michael Keaton accepted the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series. In his speech, he mentioned the recent death of his nephew anddemonstrating how real-life circumstances can often change the art we see.
The SAG Awards Yielded Both Snubs & Surprises for Viewers
By: Kevin Caffrey '23