Oppenheimer won the top prize at the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) as it continued its seemingly unstoppable march towards Oscars glory next month.
Christopher Nolan’s film about the American nuclear physicist who made the atomic bomb triumphed in the outstanding cast performance category as well as scooping individual prizes for Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr in the lead and supporting male roles.
The awards follow a seven-trophy haul at the Baftas earlier this month and five at the Golden Globes. With nominations in 13 categories at the Academy Awards, Oppenheimer remains the runaway favourite to dominate the industry’s most prestigious awards ceremony.
However, Oppenheimer did not have it all its own way on Saturday night. Lily Gladstone won best female lead for her role in Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by Martin Scorsese, while Da’Vine Joy Randolph took the best supporting role for Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers.
The top five SAG prizes (best cast and the four acting prizes) are often seen as a predictor for the Oscars, with matching wins at both ceremonies for the last two years.
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Loud applause greeted Gladstone’s victory, the first in that category for a native American at the SAGs. She told the crowd at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles that she was proud of her fellow actors following the four-month strike.
“This has been a hard year for all of us,” Gladstone added. “We bring empathy into a world that so much needs it. It’s so easy to distance ourselves. It’s so easy to close off, to stop feeling. And we all bravely keep feeling. And that humanises people. That brings people out of the shadows. It brings visibility.”
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Accepting his first SAG Award for a film performance, Downey Jr said: “Why me? Why now? Why do things seem to be going my way? Unlike my fellow nominees, I will never grow tired from the sound of my own voice.”
Randolph, who won a Bafta and a Golden Globe for her role as a school cook grieving the loss of her son in Vietnam, said: “To every actor out there still waiting in the wings for their chance, let me tell you: Your life can change in a day … It’s not a question of if but when. Keep going.”
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During the ceremony, which was streamed live on Netflix, Barbra Streisand picked up a life achievement award. She said it was “a wonderful award to get, because you know in advance you’re going to get it”.
In the TV categories, Succession won for best drama series cast but its male stars were pipped to best actor by Pedro Pascal for The Last of Us. There were further awards for Beef, The Crown and The Bear.
