Often seen as a barometer for who is going to win the Oscars and Emmys, the Screen Actors Guild Awards are unique in being voted for purely by actors. So which films and TV shows won at the ceremony in Los Angeles on 23 February, and which of the nominees do you need to see as well? We’ve got you covered with our picks of the night below - then be sure to check out the nominations in full to find out where to stream them.
Best Cast in a Motion Picture
Other shortlisted movies might have caused more excitement among audiences, but for the SAG juries, the sheer class of Conclave was enough for it to win. You can see why: no film with Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini is going to be less than excellent.
Our honorable mention nominee: Wicked was the most overlooked movie of the whole night, especially in a category rewarding ensemble casts - it had at least four outstanding performances.
Best Ensemble in a Drama Series
Shogun was the big TV winner on the night, taking home this prize as well as the big telly acting awards. It was indeed a fine achievement, turning a doorstop of a book into a gripping drama that treated its audience with respect by assuming they could keep up with subtitled dialogue and the details of the feudal system in medieval Japan.
Our honorable mention nominee: Slow Horses, which goes from strength to strength, and this time around delivered perhaps both its funniest and its most exciting spy adventure yet.
Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series
A wide-open category was won by Only Murders in the Building, the New York-set detective caper that has consistently added big names to its cast since it began, although Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez remain its big stars. Once again, the excellent The Bear was nominated for a comedy award despite not being a comedy, which might be why it lost.
Our honorable mention nominee: Shrinking, which improved on an already very funny and touching first season with a second run that really got to know the friends and family of widowed LA therapist Jimmy, played by Jason Segel.
Best Actors in a Leading Role
Two very solid winners here in Timothée Chalamet, widely acclaimed for his immersive lead role in the story of Bob Dylan going electric, A Complete Unknown; and Demi Moore, who returned from near-obscurity to become a huge late-career success with outrageous body horror The Substance.
Our honorable mention nominees: Daniel Craig might have won in a different year for his bold performance in Queer, while if the amount of online acclaim was what mattered, there would only have been one winning actress and that’s Cynthia Erivo in Wicked.
Best Actors in a Supporting Role
Zoe Saldana edged it for the musical Emilia Perez, which has had an up-and-down awards campaign but still managed to nab one of the major categories here. Kieran Culkin, meanwhile, is a classic example of a “supporting actor” who had the advantage of loads of screen time: he’s very much a co-lead in A Real Pain.
Our honorable mention nominees: it has to be the Wicked duo Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey, who were a huge part of that film’s success, through a mixture of talent, pizazz and sheer likeability.
Best Actors in a Drama Series
Here’s how much the SAG panels adored Shogun: the Japan-set historical drama won both prizes here, with Anna Sawai particularly fine as conflicted translator Toda Mariko. Hiroyuki Sanada’s win, in what could have been a relatively impenetrable part as the warlord Yoshii Toranaga, is perhaps even more impressive.
Our honorable mention nominees: Kathy Bates is terrific in Matlock, a legal drama that is more than it seems, while Gary Oldman continues to stink the place out, in a good way, as the filthy spy chief Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses.
Best Actors in a Comedy Series
Hurrah for the more mature comedy performers who showed younger acting generations how it’s done this year: Jean Smart very deservedly won for her sizzling turn as a waspish, washed-up comedian in Hacks, while everything Martin Short says and does in funny - in life, and when he’s acting in Only Murders in the Building.
Our honorable mention nominees: SAG awards host Kristin Bell was perhaps unfortunate to come up against such a strong contender in Smart, because Bell’s performance in pitch-perfect romcom Nobody Wants This was superb - as was that of her co-star Adam Brody.
Best Actors in a Limited Series
Two unstoppable winners here in the form of Jessica Gunning, a breakout star on the back of terrifying stalker comedy/drama Baby Reindeer, and Colin Farrell, whose physical transformation to play the title role in The Penguin was the most profound on-screen image overhaul of 2024.
Our honorable mention nominees: Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline were both excellent in the somewhat underrated Disclaimer, a clever twin-timeline drama about a documentary film-maker (Blanchett) whose own life becomes news when a grieving father (Kline) publishes a novel that appears to be about her.
Where to watch the SAG nominated movies and TV shows streaming online
Scroll down to find out where to watch the movies and TV shows nominated at the SAG awards streaming on the most popular platforms!
