31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards

Award season is upon us, and on February 23, the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards took place. The SAG Awards are considered to be one of the most prestigious award ceremonies in Hollywood, and this year 13 actors were awarded.

A History of the Awards

The SAG Awards are held yearly, following the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards ceremonies. They began in 1995 and have been hosted in Hollywood since then.

Each SAG Awards has three sections depending on genre and performance. The film awards have six performance awards for cast, stunt ensemble, lead male/female actor and supporting male/female actor. The television awards are slightly more intensive as they cover nine awards for genres including mini-series, drama series and comedy series. The final award presented at the SAG Awards, is the Life Achievement Award which is only awarded to one individual.

Best Leading Actor

Timothée Chalamet received the Best Leading Actor award for his role as Bob Dylan in the 2024 biopic, “A Complete Unknown.”

This was his third nomination for Best Leading Actor at the SAG Awards, with the other two nominations occurring in 2018 and 2017 for the indie films, “Call Me by Your Name” and “Beautiful Boy.”

Best Leading Actress

The Best Leading Actress award was presented to Demi Moore for her role as Elisabeth Sparkle in the body horror film, “The Substance.”

This is Moore’s first SAG award, but she was nominated as part of the 2007 Cast in a Motion Picture award for the drama film “Bobby.”

Best Supporting Actor

Kieran Culkin won the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in the film “A Real Pain” as Benji Kaplan.

This was his third SAG Award following his Golden Globe and BAFTA win for the same role and category.

Best Supporting Actress

For her role in the musical “Emilia Pérez,” Zoe Saldaña received the award for Best Supporting Actress as she played the character Rita Mora Castro.

This was Saldaña’s first win but second nomination at the awards. She was nominated for her role in the same film under the category of Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture.

Life Achievement Award

The Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award is presented to one actor every year, this year marking the 61st recipient of the award.

Jane Fonda, who has starred in over 10 films, appeared in three recurring television shows, directed four films and written one novel, was the 61st recipient of the award.

Outside of film and television, Fonda has been a political activist, volunteer and nonprofit contributor. She used the time during her acceptance speech to make a powerful statement on the current state of the world.

A whole lot of people are gonna be really hurt by what is happening, what is coming our way, and even if they’re of a different political persuasion, we need to call upon our empathy and not judge but listen from our hearts and welcome them into our tent, because we are gonna need a big tent to resist successfully what’s coming at us.

— Jane Fonda

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