Sunday night, the 27th annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards made history when all four of the top big-screen acting awards went to people of color.
Following the trend of many award shows during the pandemic, the one-hour pre-tapped show featured 13 awards given out via video chat.
This year, Viola Davis, Daniel Kaluuya, Youn Yuh-Jung, and the late Chadwick Boseman won the top four acting categories.
Davis won the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for her role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
What can I say? I’m grateful. Thank you @SAGawards…and….forgot to thank the awesome Ted Sarandos and Scott Stuber at @Netflix…and @LouisVuitton for the incredible dress. Thank you!! Humbled. 💛🙏🏿 https://t.co/cSSft9IUQ1
— Viola Davis (@violadavis) April 5, 2021
During her acceptance speech, the actress thanked playwright August Wilson for “leaving a legacy for actors of color that we can relish for the rest of our lives.”
Boseman also won the award of Outstanding Performance by Male Actor in a Leading Role his role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” His wife, Taylor Simone Ledward, accepted his award.
Kaluuya won the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Black Panther Leader Fred Hampton in “Judas and the Black Messiah.” During his acceptance speech, Kaluuya dedicated his win to former co-star Boseman.
“This one is for Chadwick Boseman, and this one’s for Chairman Fred Hampton. Thank you so much,” he says.
Yuh-Jung won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her performance in “Minari.” She has become the first Korean ever to win that category.
This is the first time in the SAG Awards’ history that a minority actor has won the leading actor, leading actress, supporting actor, and supporting actress awards.