The 31st Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards ceremony was a two-hour event that gave 15 awards to actors and ensembles for their incredible performances, highlighting some of the biggest names in the industry as well as up-and-coming stars. 

The ceremony was broadcast live on Netflix Sunday, Feb. 23., with charming host Kirsten Bell lighting up the stage. Shogun won four awards for best ensemble performances, plus actress and actor in a drama. Six-decade Hollywood star Jane Fonda was given SAG’s Life Achievement Award, and so much more, all complemented with nostalgic montages and skits in between.

The show opened with a prerecorded skit from the cast of the TV comedy “Hacks,” which was nominated for two SAG awards. Bell proceeded to sing a parody of Disney’s Frozen song “Do You Want To Build A Snowman?” replaced with “Do You Want To Be An Actor?” as montages of A-list stars, early acting gigs played on screen, such as Selena Gomez hugging Barney and Timothee Chalamet playing an ICU patient.

For their segment of film awards, Chalamet was awarded Best Actor in a Lead Role for his performance as Bob Dylan in the biopic “The Complete Unknown,” being the youngest recipient of the award. Demi Moore won Best Actress in a Lead Role for her role in “The Substance” as Elisabeth. 

Supporting role awards were given to Kieran Culkin for Best Actor for his portrayal of Benji in “A Real Pain.” Zoe Saldana was awarded Best Actress in a Supporting Role for playing Rita in “Emilia Perez.”

Saldana and “Emilia Perez” co-star Selena Gomez took the stage later on to express their love for the rather controversial film, which mixed emotions from the public lead to a 16% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, contrasting with its 72% critic rating. 

The audience outrage has come from a variety of factors, with many believing the melodrama had very poor representation of transgender people. Behind the scenes, the director confirmed to New York Times his little desire to study Mexico or the Spanish language, also sparking controversy on misrepresentation. 

Public speculation also occurred from the lack of the star of the film, Karla Sofia Gascon, at the ceremony. She reportedly opted out of the event, facing backlash from her Islamophobic and racist 2020 posts on X that’s currently raising conversation surrounding her expected Oscars appearance.

Later on, “Conclave” star Ralph Fiennes accepted the prize on behalf of the political thriller film crew for Best Film Ensemble Cast. The crew for the action-comedy film “The Fall Guy” happily accepted the award for Best Film Stunt Ensemble. 

As the spotlight for motion pictures transitioned into television, Bell performed several mini skits, reuniting actors from critically acclaimed series like Ted Danson and William Jackson Harper from “The Good Place”, and shouting out “Gossip Girl” with Leighton Meester.

It was also a big night for the television industry as well. Best Actor and Actress in a Drama Series went to historical-drama “Shogun” stars Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, respectively, delivering emotional speeches full of gratitude. The crew would later take the stage again to take home awards for both Ensemble in a Drama Series and Stunt Ensemble in a TV Series.

The award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series was given to Martin Short for playing Oliver in the mystery-drama “Only Murders In The Building”, while Best Actress in the same genre went home to Jean Smart for playing Deborah in the comedy-drama “Hacks”. 

“Only Murders In The Building” accepted another award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Drama Series, with Gomez’s reaction becoming a highlight for the night. “What?” she mouthed to her co-stars as she took the stage, “We never win, this is so weird!”

Her surprise is to be expected, as the crew of the mystery-comedy was pitted against equally critically acclaimed television shows. Among them being “The Bear”, which has won 21 Primetime Emmy Awards and “Hacks”, receiving nine Emmy Awards.

For the TV Movie or Limited Series genre, the award for Best Actor went to Colin Farrell for his performance in the crime drama “The Penguin” as the title character. Best Actress was awarded to Jessica Gunning for her portrayal of Martha in the black-comedy “Baby Reindeer”. 

Several homages were made to fan-favorite media genres like horror, soap operas, and law dramas. Included was a montage dedicated to the career of Hollywood veteran Jane Fonda. At 87, she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the SAG event for her over six-decade-long career in the industry. 

The two-time Academy Award winner has also been prominent in political activism, expressing her support for unions and claiming during her speech that “Make no mistake, empathy is not weak or woke, and by the way, woke just means you give a damn about other people.” Her speech consisted of encouraging women’s empowerment and coming together as a community. 

Later on in the night, a tribute to late actors and actresses in the industry was made, memorializing figures like Shelley Duvall, James Earl Jones, Shannen Doherty, and more.

Overall, some of the biggest names in Hollywood came together that night to highlight extraordinary achievements and tug at our heartstrings while potentially setting the stage for what’s to come at next week’s Academy Awards ceremony.