Aaron Sorkin’s courtroom drama The Trial of the Chicago 7 finally notched a significant award-season victory on Sunday night, winning the Screen Actors Guild Award for best cast in a motion picture.
Over the past decade five of the films that won SAG’s top prize went on to take the best-picture Oscar, including last year, when a big win for Parasite gave it a gust of momentum going into the Academy Awards. After The Trial of the Chicago 7 lost the Golden Globe for best drama to Nomadland and the Writers Guild Award for original screenplay to Promising Young Woman, the film’s triumph at the SAG Awards could give it a similar jolt.
Two men who have been sweeping the season continued to steamroll at SAG: the late Chadwick Boseman won the best-actor award for his work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, while the Judas and the Black Messiah star Daniel Kaluuya won the supporting-actor trophy.
The actress and supporting-actress races have been more suspenseful this season, and SAG delivered two notable victories in the form of the best-actress winner, Viola Davis, for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and the Minari scene-stealer Yuh-Jung Youn, who won the supporting-actress award.
Last year all four SAG acting winners went on to repeat at the Oscars. If that happens this year, it will be the first time that all the acting Oscars were won by people of colour. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom would also become the first film since As Good as It Gets, from 1997, to win both the best-actor and best-actress Oscars – though, unlike that film, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom missed out on a best-picture nomination. (As Good as It Gets lost that prize to Titanic.)
In the television categories, Schitt’s Creek and The Crown continued their award-season dominance, winning the comedy and drama categories, respectively.
Here is a complete list of winners.
FILM
Outstanding Cast The Trial of the Chicago 7
Actor in a Leading Role Chadwick Boseman Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Actress in a Leading Role Viola Davis Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Actress in a Supporting Role Yuh-Jung Youn Minari
Actor in a Supporting Role Daniel Kaluuya Judas and the Black Messiah
Stunt Ensemble in a Movie Wonder Woman 1984
TELEVISION
Ensemble in a Drama Series The Crown
Actor in a Drama Series Jason Bateman Ozark
Actress in a Drama Series Gillian Anderson The Crown
Ensemble in a Comedy Series Schitt's Creek
Actor in a Comedy Series Jason Sudeikis Ted Lasso
Actress in a Comedy Series Catherine O'Hara Schitt's Creek
Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series Mark Ruffalo I Know This Much Is True
Actress in a TV Movie or Limited Series Anya Taylor-Joy The Queen's Gambit
Stunt Ensemble in a TV Series The Mandalorian
– New York Times
