At a time when the upcoming Academy Awards aka the Oscars have rolled out nominations that are so lacking in diversity that the tag #OscarsSoWhite feels appropriate, the Screen Actors Guild Awards have given Hollywood a lot to think about by recognizing and rewarding diversity across the board. Fellow actor Idris Elba took home two actor trophies for his work in the Netflix movie Beasts of No Nation and BBC’s crime series, Luther.
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Steve Granitz/WireImage Actor Idris Elba, victor of Best Supporting Actor, poses in the press room during the 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. The Orange Is the New Black cast and Uzo Aduba claimed comedy ensemble and comedy actress for the second straight year. “Different race, color, creed, sexual orientation”, said Laura Prepon of the television show Orange Is The New Black as she motioned to her fellow cast members who won the ensemble prize Saturday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. The Oscar actors branch is about 1,100 people, but SAG voting membership is around 115,000 people. – Alicia Vikander, supporting actress victor for The Danish Girl.
However, director Spike Lee, actress Jada Pinkett Smith and her husband Will Smith announced they would not be attending next month’s awards.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to diverse TV”, said Elba, while introducing Beasts of No Nation with co-star Abraham Attah, according to USA Today.
The SAG Awards top honor, best ensemble in a film, went to the newspaper drama “Spotlight“, which came into Saturday badly in need of some momentum.
Brie Larson made it two major award wins out of two as she won the Best Actress award for her performance in Room. The two joined forces to present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Carol Burnett (and knocked DiCaprio down a few pegs with a hilarious bit at his expense). “Diversity is not a trending topic”.
“Male Actor in a Drama Series went to Kevin Spacey from “House of Cards” once again, with Male Actor in a Comedy Series going to this year’s Critics” Choice TV Award victor Jeffrey Tambor from “Transparent“.
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Davis said backstage that she and other actors of color she knows don’t put limits on themselves, and will “find a way to be excellent” no matter what is happening in the industry. “They won because the actors have craft, they have a level of excellence that reaches people – and we’re actors too”.
