Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “Bear” stars Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri accepted television awards on Saturday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, one of Hollywood’s biggest pre-Oscar ceremonies.
The awards were voted on by members of the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA, and winners and participants recalled their early days trying to make it in show business.
“I’m honored to be in this community,” White said as he accepted the award for best actor in a television comedy. “I’ve wanted to be a part of this my whole life. I didn’t have a backup plan.”
His co-star Edebiri won the award for best actress in a television comedy for the series about a gourmet chef trying to turn around his family’s sandwich shop in Chicago.
Ali Wong was named best actress in the miniseries road rage drama “Beef.” She thanked her 83-year-old mother, who was in the audience.
“I know it was really hard when I told you I wanted to do stand-up comedy, and I hope you feel like it worked out,” she said.
Blockbusters “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” battled it out again for the night’s top award for best cast in a motion picture. Other contenders include The Color Purple, Killers of the Flower Moon and American Fantasy.
The ceremony came after SAG-AFTRA led a four-month strike against Hollywood studios last year to demand higher wages and protections for artificial intelligence.
“It’s especially important to be here with us all together again on this occasion, after we went through very difficult times with the strike,” said actor Idris Elba in his opening remarks.
The ceremony was broadcast live on Netflix (NASDAQ:) for the first time, part of the streaming service’s efforts to expand its live events.
SAG-AFTRA’s film selections are being closely watched as actors make up the largest group of voters for next month’s Oscars, the film industry’s top honor.
A win for director Christopher Nolan’s historical drama Oppenheimer will solidify its status as a front-runner for Best Picture at the Oscars. The film about the race to create the first atomic bomb received top prizes at the Golden Globes, the British Academy and other ceremonies.
If feminist doll adventure “Barbie” or another competitor wins, it will shake up the Oscar race on March 10.
In the SAG acting competitions, Emma Stone will compete for best actress for her role as a woman brought back from the dead in the dark comedy “Poor People.” Her competition includes “Barbie” lead actress Margot Robbie and Lily Gladstone, star of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a drama about the murders of members of the Osage Indian community in 1920s Oklahoma.
Cillian Murphy, who plays physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, is nominated for best actor against “Maestro”‘s Bradley Cooper, “The Leftovers” star Paul Giamatti and others.
SAG-AFTRA will also present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Barbra Streisand, award-winning actress, producer, director, singer and writer.