My SAG Award Picks

As is usually the case, my votes will likely not reflect the winners.  Too bad.  This is what I’m voting for, and why.

FILM

Outstanding Performance by a Cast:  This came down to Belfast and CODA.  Both are just lovely family dramas.  Setting aside my personal bias of loving anything Irish, I had to go with CODA which really peeled into the layers of the complex relationships between family members.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role:  Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye.  For me, none of the others even came close.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role:  Will Smith, hands down. 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role:  This one was really tough.  A four-way race, in my humble opinion.  That being said, I went for Ariana DeBose in West Side Story.  Her performance wasn’t “better” than the others but it involved singing and dancing as well as acting and I just enjoy a fresh face.  Ms. DeBose brought so much energy to the work that the screen just shimmered when she was in a scene.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role:  This was a three-way tie for me.  In the end I went with Ben Affleck, whose presence in The Tender Bar really made the film work.  And he did an amazing job of subverting his own personality to simply “be” the character.  Bravo.

TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series:  I was really going to go for Handmaid’s Tale.  I ADORE Handmaid’s Tale.  But The Morning Show kind of blew me away.  There isn’t a single character who doesn’t bring 120% to the production, and it fits together like an incredibly dense puzzle.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series:  I’m the first to say that people shouldn’t get an award for playing the same role over and over every year.  That being said I voted for Elisabeth Moss in Handmaid’s Tale.  Again.  And always.  The layers of this character, as she moves from mom to rebel to, well, something else, are impossible to turn away from.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series:  Billy Crudup, The Morning Show.  He makes awful decisions.  And then tries to justify them.  And struggles with his own actions.  With a single look he communicates a million feelings.  It’s kind of brilliant.

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series:  The Great.  Always.  It won’t win.  But it should.  It really, really should.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series:  Elle Fanning, The Great.  See above.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series:  This one is tough because I basically didn’t like Ted Lasso or Only Murders in the Building.  So I went with Michael Douglas in The Kominksy Method.  It’s a default but I like the show and I like his work in it.  He really embraces who he is now, warts and all.  After seeing so many Hollywood types fight aging tooth and nail, this performance is refreshing and real.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series:  This was really tough.  I wanted to go with Cynthia Erivo, who (I’m very sad to say) was better than Jennifer Hudson at playing Aretha Franklin.  The performance was more layered, more energized.  Less sanitized.  But then there was Maid.  Margaret Qualley’s frustration, anger and desperation as she is continually boxed into corners she can’t get out of are a portrait of pain.  I went with Margaret Qualley.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series:  Really really wanted to go with Murray Bartlett from The White Lotus as his role was not only critical but just beautifully played.  But then there was Dopesick.  The show didn’t just transfix me.  And Michael Keaton proved, yet again, what a terrific actor he is.  He just metamorphized into a small-town doctor.  No ego, no echoes of the actor, just the character.  It was lovely.

STUNTS

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture:  This was tough but fun.  Almost all of these not only had great stunts but were highly watchable (particularly Dune and No Time to Die).  And it’s tricky these days.  You don’t want to reward digital effects instead of the actual stunt work.  All that being said No Time to Die, Shang-Chi and Black Widow each had a ton of stunt work and all had some fun, unique things to look at.  There was a protracted motorcycle chase up and down stairwells in a European city, a large fight on a bamboo scaffolding and two “sisters” who aren’t exactly best friends when they meet up for the first time in decades.  I went with Black Widow because, in my heart, I believe that women fight differently.  They must rely on weight shifts and unique moves more than on punches thrown with brute strength.  I loved the use of towels in the first showdown between Natasha and Yelena.  It was creative and fresh.  Brava. 

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series:  Tough call.  Went with Squid Game cuz, well, yeah, these are new scenarios.  Still trying to figure out why Star Trek:  Discovery never gets a nod.  Most recent season had ****loads of stunts.  Anyway a note that stunts aside Loki was my favorite new Marvel mini-series.