SAG Awards Marked By Impassioned Speeches

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Awards season continues to roll along at a fevered pitch. Last night, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards were presented at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The awards honor work done on television, in film, as well as on digital networks such as Netflix. In fact, o

ne of the night's biggest winners was Netflix vehicle Stranger Things, the youth centered science-fiction thriller that held viewers enthralled late last summer. The program won for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Viola Davis won the statue for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her turn in the feature film, Fences. In somewhat of a surprise win, Hidden Figures, about the group of black female NASA scientists who helped put John Glenn on the moon won the top award for the night for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. As the stunning cast stood on stage to accept their award, one of the film's stars Taraji P. Henson gave an impassioned acceptance speech wherein she chose to emphasize the collective efforts of the NASA employees depicted in the film as a metaphor for unity despite divisions of class, race, religion, etc. With her castmates sometimes nodding soberly in agreement she said, “The shoulders of the women that we stand on are three American heroes. Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson — without them we would not know how to reach the stars. This story is of unity. This story is about what happens when we put our differences aside and we come together as a human race. We win. Love wins. Every time."

The speeches probably eclipsed the programs and actors that were being honored last night. The awards came on the heels of a week punctuated by political upheaval after the issuing of a number of Executive Orders issued by Donald Trump. They culminated with the order banning non-citizens from seven mainly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Protesters descended on airports across the country. Many of the speeches at last night's ceremony directly or indirectly entreated the government and the citizens of the country to reverse this order and any other policy that give the appearance of discrimination against a particular group of people. Actor Ashton Kutcher, whose wife Mila Kunis immigrated from the Ukraine as a child, opened the ceremony with the following, "Good evening fellow SAG AFTRA members, everyone at home, and everyone at airports that belong in my America. You are a part of the fabric of who we are and we love you and we welcome you.”

FULL LIST OF WINNERS

Best female actor in a TV comedy series

Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black Jane Fonda, Grace and Frankie Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt WINNER: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Best male actor in a TV comedy series

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Ty Burrell, Modern Family WINNER: William H Macy, Shameless Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Best cast in a TV comedy series

The Big Bang Theory Black-ish Modern Family WINNER: Orange is the New Black Veep

Best female supporting actor

WINNER: Viola Davis, Fences Naomie Harris, Moonlight Nicole Kidman, Lion Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

Best male supporting actor

WINNER: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea Dev Patel, Lion

Best female actor in a TV movie or miniseries

Bryce Dallas Howard, Black Mirror Felicity Huffman, American Crime Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill WINNER: Sarah Paulson, The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story Kerry Washington, Confirmation

Best male actor in a TV movie or miniseries

Riz Ahmed, The Night Of Sterling K Brown, The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story WINNER: Bryan Cranston, All the Way John Turturro, The Night Of Courtney B Vance, The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

Best male actor in a TV drama series

Sterling K Brown, This Is Us Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones WINNER: John Lithgow, The Crown Rami Malek, Mr Robot Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Best female actor in a TV drama series

Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things WINNER: Claire Foy, The Crown Thandie Newton, Westworld Winona Ryder, Stranger Things Robin Wright, House of Cards

Best cast in a TV drama series

The Crown Downton Abbey Game of Thrones WINNER: Stranger Things Westworld

Best female actor

Amy Adams, Arrival Emily Blunt, The Girl on the Train Natalie Portman, Jackie WINNER: Emma Stone, La La Land Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Best male actor

Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge Ryan Gosling, La La Land

Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic WINNER: Denzel Washington, Fences

Best ensemble performance

Captain Fantastic Fences WINNER: Hidden Figures Manchester by the Sea Moonlight

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