UPDATED: Netflix was a force at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards Sunday, claiming half of the television acting prizes up for grabs. John Lithgow and Claire Foy of period drama The Crown locked up top drama acting honors.
Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black repeated its comedy ensemble win, while Stranger Things was top drama ensemble.
It was a good night for HBO as well, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Veep and Bryan Cranston of All the Way taking home trophies, while Game of Thrones was awarded for stunt ensemble.
The broadcast networks did not win.
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Ashton Kutcher started off the 23rdSAG Awards with some topical humor, saluting viewers at home, and “everyone in airports who belongs in my America.”
The female actor in a comedy prize went to Louis-Dreyfus for her role on HBO’s Veep. She, too, used the podium to express support for immigrants, calling President Donald Trump’s executive order on the topic “a blemish, and it’s un-American.”
Male actor in a comedy went to William H. Macy of Showtime’s Shameless. “I’m shocked. I’m probably not as shocked as Jeffrey (Tambor), but I’m shocked,” he said. Macy thanked President Trump for making his Frank Gallagher character seem normal.
The awards went down at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and the fest aired on TNT and TBS.
Best ensemble in a comedy went to Orange Is the New Black on Netflix, its third consecutive win.
Female actor in a television movie or limited series went to Sarah Paulson, who played prosecutor Marcia Clark in The People v. O.J. Simpson on FX. Paulson singled out Clark, seated at the People v. O.J. table, “for your strength, your brilliance, your perseverance.”
The male actor in a TV movie or limited series was seized by Bryan Cranston for portraying President Lyndon B. Johnson in the HBO film All the Way. He imagined President Johnson addressing President Trump, putting an arm around Trump’s shoulders, wishing him well and saying, “Just don’t piss in the soup that all of us gotta eat.”
Lily Tomlin, star of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie and, going back a bit, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh In, and plenty on the small screen, big screen and stage in between, got a Life Achievement award, introduced by 9 to 5 costar Dolly Parton.
Lithgow won top male actor in a drama for his role as Winston Churchill in Netflix’s The Crown, his first win in the category.
Foy kept up The Crown's win streak, taking best female actor in a drama.
The top drama ensemble went to Netflix’s Stranger Things, resulting in some jumping, celebrating children on stage. With a wink toward current events, David Harbour, speaking on behalf of his “fearless” castmates, said the Stranger Things cast will continue to “repel bullies, shelter outcasts and hunt monsters.”
