The film Oppenheimer led the way at the United States SAG-AFTRA Awards, taking home the best cast prize, the top honor of the evening that signaled the actors’ return after their 2023 strike for better working conditions.
“SAG-AFTRA, thank you for fighting for us, and thanks to every member who supported us. The last time we were all together was on a red carpet from which we stepped back during the strike in solidarity. This feels like a closing chapter for us,” stated Kenneth Branagh, accepting the award on behalf of the Oppenheimer ensemble.
Cillian Murphy, who portrays the tormented physicist Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s drama, earned the prize for best actor, while Robert Downey Jr. received best supporting actor, continuing the momentum they had already shown at ceremonies like the Golden Globes or the BAFTAs.
The award for best actress went to Lily Gladstone for her role in Killers of the Flower Moon, where she faced a tight race with Emma Stone, the lead in Poor Things. Meanwhile, Da’Vine Joy Randolph claimed best supporting actress for her work in The Beasts in the Valley, a film by Alexander Payne.
“It’s a gift to be able to do this for a living. We bring empathy to a world that needs it. It would be easy to shut ourselves off and stop feeling, but we have continued to feel with courage,” Gladstone later remarked.
Interestingly, the year’s box office champ Barbie and Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things did not win any awards at SAG-AFTRA.
With these results, Oppenheimer reinforces its standing as the likely Oscar favorite, with the ceremony scheduled for March 10, and the film with nominations in thirteen categories.
The television honors were dominated by The Bear and Succession, two series that had previously triumphed at the Golden Globes, the Emmys, and the Critics Choice Awards.
Succession earned the best drama series cast prize, while The Bear won as best comedy cast, along with best comedy actor for Jeremy Allen White and best supporting actress for Ayo Edebiri.
Pedro Pascal surprised many by defeating Kieran Culkin to win best drama series actor for his portrayal of Joel in HBO’s The Last of Us. He was moved to tears on stage as he accepted the award, joking about his long association with the guild.
The Crown’s Elizabeth Debicki captured the best actress in a drama series award, and Beef dominated a number of limited series categories, including wins for both leading actors in that program.
One of the night’s most poignant moments came as SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher delivered a live speech—the first time the ceremony was broadcast by Netflix—highlighting the victory’s impact for actors and writers who led the historic 2023 strike against studios and streaming platforms. Drescher spoke of unity igniting a wider movement across workers worldwide, calling the summer the peak of a labor surge that inspired many to follow the path of solidarity.
She reiterated the message that the industry’s great contribution to entertainment deserves recognition, and that the members stand tall and proud in their achievements.
Also notable was the tribute to Barbra Streisand’s career and a reunion on stage of the iconic The Devil Wears Prada leads, Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Emily Blunt, at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California, a moment that underscored the ceremony as a crossroads of past legacies and present triumphs.