SAG Awards 2016 highlights and winners
The 22nd Screen Actors Guild Awards show opened with short introductions from Jeffrey Tambor, Anna Chlumsky, Kunal Nayyar, Rami Malek and Queen Latifah on how they identify as actors.
Queen Latifah said, "I have also been told I'm not thin enough, I'm not white enough, I'm not man enough. Damn it, I am enough. I am Queen Latifah and I'm an actor. "
Kristen Wiig and Jon Hamm kicked off the show by presenting best female actor in a comedy series.
"Laughter," Wiig deadpanned in a very serious voice. She and Hamm launched into a riff about laughter and what it is and what it means: "It touches us," said Hamm.
"When we do it our little bellies move," Wiig explained as she remained completely expressionless.
The award went to Uzo Aduba of "Orange is the New Black" for her portrayal of Suzanne Warren; the actress won the award last year as well. She took the stage and said, "I would like to say thank you to our phenomenal cast. I not only respect all of you but love all of you," as the camera panned to her cast mates.
Sarah Silverman and Jason Bateman presented for best male actor in a comedy series, and Silverman put on a fake mustache and glasses in the middle of the presentation.
"Get up here, dad," said Bateman, making a reference to his "Arrested Development" relationship with Tambor. Tambor won best male actor in a comedy series for his role as transgendered character Maura Pfefferman in "Transparent."
"I want to thank Jill Soloway for changing my life. Thank you for the responsibility of Maura Pfefferman," he said. Then Tambor pointed out that his character, Maura, is wealthy, and he said, "This is for the non-Mauras, who don't have a lot of cash for their operations, for their medicine, for their freedom."
Christian Bale and Steve Carell introduced a promotional video for "The Big Short."
Patricia Arquette and J.K. Simmons presented the award for Ensemble in a Comedy Series, which went to "Orange is the New Black" for the second year in a row.
The whole cast of the show took the stage, and Laura Prepon gave a speech, saying, "Look at this stage, this is what we talk about when we talk about diversity."
Jeremy Renner presented the award for Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a film, which went to Alicia Vikander for her role as Gerda in "The Danish Girl."
Vikander said she used to watch her mother act on stage and she said, "I saw collaboration and camaraderie between actors and I learned then and I know still that acting is not a bubble. That only happens between acting companions," before thanking her co-stars from "The Danish Girl." She also thanked the transgender community for making her work in the movie possible.
O'Shea Jackson, Jason Mitchell and Corey Hawkins of "Straight Outta Compton" presented their film, and then Saoirse Ronan presented the award for Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a film, which went to Idris Elba for his role as the commandant in "Beasts of No Nation."
Ken Howard, president of SAG-AFTRA, said, 'Tonight we celebrate our common passion," and played a montage of on-screen characters attempting to become actors saying, "Anyone can act" or "We're actors -- we bring joy to people's lives."
Anna Faris and Anthony Mackie took the stage and thanked the armed forces.
"Please come home safe and sound," said Faris as everyone clapped.
They then presented the award for Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie.
Queen Latifah won for her role in "Bessie" for playing Bessie Smith. "I am in shock right now," she said. "I shouldn't be, but I am. I'm really grateful." Queen Latifah also won a SAG for her role in "Chicago" in 2003.
Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams presented "Spotlight" before Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay of "Room" presented the award for Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries.
Before they presented, Tremblay said, "I can still remember the first time I got nominated for a SAG Award, I was only nine years old, and I was competing against 'Batman.'" Tremblay was nominated for his role in 2015's "Room."
"That was this year," said Larson, rolling her eyes.
Then, Idris Elba took his second win for the night and took the award for his role as DCI John Luther in "Luther."
"I really don't know what to say. Two wins in one night -- that's incredible," he said before thanking his children and mother.
Diane Lane, Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren presented "Trumbo" before Tina Fey and Amy Poehler presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Carol Burnett, joking that the movie "Carol" was about Burnett's longtime friendship with Julie Andrews.
"Nope, watch it again," said Poehler. "That's not what it's about."
Poehler said, "She deserves every award because comedy is much harder than drama. Comic actors have to do everything dramatic actors do but faster, and often with a chimp."
Fey then called out Michael Keaton and asked him if "Spotlight" was harder or "Mr. Mom."
Poehler joked that Leonardo DiCaprio's acting in "The Revenant" would have been better if Burnett had acted in it, mentioning the time DiCaprio's character sleeps in a horse carcass.
"Carol would have slept in that horse, worn it, done a song and a dance and would have made a much funnier face after eating something very disgusting," she said. "The point is Carol is better than all of us."
Fey said both she and Poehler grew up watching Burnett as her fans before they introduced a video montage of Burnett's work. The montage also included clips of Jane Lynch, Betty White and Ellen DeGeneres expressing their admiration of her.
Burnett walked arm-in-arm with Steve Carell as she took the stage.
"You guys are the whole ball of wax," said Burnett to Fey and Poehler. She talked about how when she was a child, she and her grandmother went to the movies three or four times a week to see double-features, watching six to eight movies a week. She continued and said that she and her friend used to reenact the movies and then climb the Hollywood sign -- "No, really," she said. Burnett said that later when she had her variety show, one of her favorite things was doing parodies of movies.
"Oh God, did we have fun," she said.
Burnett said that executives tried to stop her from hosting a variety show because it was "really not for a gal. Comedy variety is a man's game," she quoted. Then she shook her head and said, "Mm-mm, no," before she thanked her colleagues in the audience and crediting them for making her show possible.
Taye Diggs and Eva Longoria presented Female Actor in a Drama Series, which went to Viola Davis for her role as Annalise Keating in "How to Get Away with Murder."
She said she often gets asked if she worries about portraying an anti-hero. "[She's] flawed, messy -- maybe not always be likable, not cute, but it is my job and I do it to the best of my ability and I get so much joy of being an actor," said Davis.
Abraham Attah joined Idris Elba on stage as they presented their film "Beasts of No Nation," and Elba joked, "Welcome to diverse television," likely referring to the fact that many of the night's winners were black actors.
Then, Priyanka Chopra and Pedro Pascal presented the award for Male Actor in a Drama Series for Television, which went to Kevin Spacey for his role as Francis Underwood in "House of Cards;" Spacey won an award for his role in "American Beauty" in 2000, as well.
Spacey called the show "a remarkable challenge" before thanking his colleagues. He finished his speech by saying, "I want to make a remark about the theory of relativity. [It says] if you're in an elevator you don't know if you're going up or going down, but it feels like I'm going up right now," as he motioned toward the award.
Susan Sarandon took the stage and presented a video montage in memorial of actors who passed away in the past year.
Keegan-Michael Key and Julia Louis-Dreyfus presented the award for Ensemble in a Drama Series, which went to the cast of "Downton Abbey" for the third time.
Lesley Nicol delivered the acceptance speech and said, "Everyone in this room knows acting is a collaboration and this is the best cast ... We really have people committed to the show."
Eddie Redmayne then presented the award for Female Actor in a Leading Role, which went to Brie Larson for her role as Joy Newsome in "Room" -- Larson has also won a Golden Globe for the same role. She thanked her fellow SAG actors for making films and said, "Watching movies made me feel less alone ... and gave me space to explore my creativity."
Julianne Moore presented the award for Male Actor in a Leading Role. Leonardo DiCaprio won the award for his role as Hugh Glass in "The Revenant;" the actor won a Golden Globe for the same role. He talked about how lucky he felt to land his role in "This Boy's Life" in 1993, which started his acting career, and thanked director Alejandro Inarritu for his "fierce authenticity," along with his cast mates, team and family.
Demi Moore presented the award for Cast in a Motion Picture, which went to the cast of "Spotlight."
"No way," Mark Ruffalo breathed when he got on stage. "I was not expecting that."
Ruffalo said he wanted to honor the victims who were molested by some of Boston's Catholic priests as minors; "Spotlight" is based on the story behind the Boston Globe's coverage of the scandal.
Ruffalo said, "It is such an honor to be standing here on behalf of them," before he passed on the microphone to his co-star, Michael Keaton.
Keaton continued and said the movie was not just about the victims of Boston's Catholic Church scandal: "This is not just for the survivors of this horrific situation but for me, personally, this is really for the disenfranchised everywhere. This is for every Flint, Michigan,in the world. This is for the powerless ... There's fair and there's unfair. And I've always voted for fair."
The night was remarkable in that amidst the controversy of an all-white Oscars nominees list, four black actors took home awards from the show -- and one, Elba, took home two.
