‘CODA’, a coming-of-age drama about the only hearing member of a deaf family, won the Screen Actors Guild’s top film award, raising its chances of success at next month’s Oscars ceremony.
The movie, which Apple TV+ acquired at the Sundance Film Festival for $25 million, follows the story of a small-town girl who pursues her dream of becoming a singer. The film cast deaf actors Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur as parents of the young performer, played by Emilia Jones.
We’re smiling from ear to ear 🤟 CODA receives the Actor® for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture! #sagawards pic.twitter.com/bjy8LlVQiy
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) February 28, 2022
“We deaf actors have come a long way,” said Matlin, speaking through an interpreter.
The SAG awards, chosen by members of the SAG-AFTRA acting union, are closely watched because actors form the largest voting group in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes the Oscars. Winning the top SAG honor often, but not always, precedes the best picture win.
Congratulations to #TroyKotsur for taking home the Actor® #sagawards pic.twitter.com/O8z6uYGpcT
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) February 28, 2022
This year’s Oscar winners will be announced on March 27.
‘CODA’, an acronym for Child of Deaf Adult, landed the top SAG award – for a cast in a motion picture – over drama ‘Belfast’, a Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical tale about the Northern Ireland conflict, climate change allegory ‘Don’t Look Up’, ‘King Richard’ about the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, and ‘House of Gucci’, the story of the family behind the famous fashion house.
Massive congrats to the cast of CODA #sagawards pic.twitter.com/zAOakHRK1T
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) February 28, 2022
‘The Power of the Dog’, which led Oscar nominations with 12 nods, was not nominated by SAG for best cast. The gothic Western did not win on Sunday.
A stunning performance by a stunning actor #sagawards pic.twitter.com/AUt2t2TLfJ
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) February 28, 2022
Jessica Chastain won best movie actress for ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’, and Will Smith was named best movie actor for ‘King Richard’, the story of Venus and Serena Williams’ father.
Will Smith receives his first Actor® 👏👏 #sagawards pic.twitter.com/miBEvOZVoF
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) February 28, 2022
Among the night’s television honors, the fish out of water series about an American football coach hired to coach a British soccer team, ‘Ted Lasso’, won for best comedy, and the cast of HBO’s tale of money, power, and politics, ‘Succession’ won for outstanding ensemble performance in a drama series.
What a team😍 Congratulations to the cast of @TedLasso #sagawards pic.twitter.com/nGUMmSogjm
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) February 28, 2022
Brian Cox of ‘Succession’ used his acceptance speech to address the war, lauding the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a former comic, and offering support for Russian actors, who ‘under pains of high treason’ cannot speak out.
There’s nothing like a family business #sagawards pic.twitter.com/ePhbX31EZ3
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) February 28, 2022
Helen Mirren was honored with a lifetime achievement award.
You absolutely DO deserve this ✨ Helen Mirren receives the #sagawards Lifetime Achievement Award pic.twitter.com/SauWG5ynwh
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) February 28, 2022
“I join our tribe of rogues and vagabonds a long time ago,” said Mirren. “And it is you, you actors, that I want to thank.”