award shows, Bombshell, Los Angeles, movies, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, SAG Awards, Screen Actors Guild, Screen Actors Guild Awards, The Irishman, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, TV
December 11, 2019
by Carla Hay
With four nominations each, Lionsgate’s sexual-harassment film “Bombshell,” Netflix’s mob drama “The Irishman,” Columbia Pictures’ Manson Family murder drama “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and Amazon Prime Video’s comedy series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” are the top contenders at the 25th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which will take place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 19, 2020. TNT and TBS will have the live U.S. telecast of the show.
“Bombshell” earned nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture; Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role (for Charlize Theron); Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role (for Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie).
“The Irishman” got nods for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture; Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (for Al Pacino and Joe Pesci); and Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture.
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” received nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture; Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (for Leonardo DiCaprio); Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role (for Brad Pitt); and Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture.
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” picked up nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series; Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series (for Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein); and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series (for Tony Shalhoub). The SAG Awards do not have supporting actor/supporting actress categories for TV shows.
Also getting multiple nominations, with three nods each, are Netflix’s divorce movie “Marriage Story,” Apple TV+’s drama series “The Morning Show” and Netflix’s drama series “The Crown.”
Several actors received three nominations each at the SAG Awards this year: Johansson is up for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role (for “Marriage Story”), Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role (for “Jojo Rabbit”), and she is among the nominees for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (for “Jojo Rabbit”). “Bombshell” co-stars Robbie and Kidman are also nominated for three SAG Awards each. In addition to their individual and cast nominations for “Bombshell,” Robbie is among the cast nominated for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” while Kidman is among the ensemble nominated for HBO’s “Big Little Lies.” Pacino has cast nominations (for being in “The Irishman” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), in addition to his individual nomination for “The Irishman.”
Snubs and Surprises
Although “Marriage Story” scored three individual nominations (for lead actor Adam Driver, lead actress Scarlett Johansson and supporting actress Laura Dern), the movie was shut out of the category Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Conversely, “The Irishman” got a nod for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, but its lead actor (Robert De Niro) was snubbed by not getting a nod for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. However, De Niro will be receiving the Life Achievement Award (a non-competitive prize) at the SAG Awards this year, so he’s guaranteed to get an award at the show anyway. De Niro’s sometime co-star Leonardo DiCaprio will be presenting the Life Achievement Award to him.
These movies were completely shut out of the SAG Awards this year, even though they’ve been winning acting awards elsewhere: A24’s “The Farewell,” Sony Pictures Classics’ “Pain and Glory,” Columbia Pictures’ “Little Women,” A24’s “Waves,” Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Richard Jewell” and A24’s “Uncut Gems.”
In television, the biggest snub was for the FX drama series “Pose,” which didn’t get a SAG nomination this year, despite receiving several Emmy nominations, including an Emmy win for lead actor Billy Porter. Also snubbed were the broadcast TV networks, since NBC’s “The Is Us” was the only broadcast network show to get a SAG nomination this year: “This Is Us” star Sterling K. Brown picked up a nod for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. All the other TV nominees are for shows on cable networks or streaming services. Meanwhile, previous SAG nominee/Emmy winner Henry Winkler of HBO’s “Barry” didn’t get a SAG nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series this year, but Andrew Scott of Amazon Prime Video’s “Fleabag” got a surprise nomination in the category.
One of the biggest surprises is the strong showing for Fox Searchlight Pictures’ “Jojo Rabbit,” the Nazi satire that has gotten mixed reviews and hasn’t been getting nominations for its cast at a lot of other award shows. The movie is among the nominees for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, edging out “Marriage Story,” which was widely predicted to be nominated in that category. But someone who benefits either way is Johansson, who’s nominated for both movies.
Another big surprise was Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show” getting two nominations in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. Billy Crudup was expected to be nominated, but co-star Steve Carell was not. Meanwhile, in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, Reese Witherspoon of “The Morning Show” was snubbed in favor of co-star Jennifer Aniston. However, Witherspoon got an expected nomination as part of the ensemble for HBO’s “Big Little Lies.” Another noticeable snub was Sandra Oh of BBC America’s “Killing Eve,” who was edged out in favor of co-star Jodie Comer.
Diversity and Inclusion
There is very little racial diversity among the SAG Award nominees this year. The movie casts and TV ensembles that received group nominations are predominantly white, and people of color are only 14% of the 50 nominees in the SAG Award categories for individuals. People of color are about 28% of the U.S. population, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, and that number is expected to be much higher for the 2020 U.S. Census.
The black nominees in the movie categories for individuals are Cynthia Erivo for Focus Features’ “Harriet” and Lupita Nyong’o for Universal Pictures’ “Us” (Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role) and Jamie Foxx for Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Just Mercy” (Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role). The TV categories for individuals have the aforementioned Brown for “This Is Us” ; Mahershala Ali for HBO’s “True Detective”; and Jharrel Jerome for Netflix’s “When They See Us.”
In the SAG Award categories for groups, the nominated casts/ensembles are large, but usually have only a few people of color, and they’re usually black. Such is the case with Caleb McLaughlin and Priah Ferguson of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” Zoe Kravitz of “Big Little Lies,” Kirby Howell-Baptiste of HBO’s “Barry” and Nathalie Emmanuel for HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” has the highest number of black people (four) of all the nominated ensembles: The nominated black actors in “The Handmaid’s Tale” ensemble are Samira Wiley, O.T. Fagbenle, Ashleigh LaThrop and Bahia Watson.
Asians are represented the most with Neon’s South Korean drama “Parasite,” which received only one nomination: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Meanwhile, there is some Asian representation in the nominated casts of “Jojo Rabbit” (director/co-star Taika Waititi is of Māori descent) and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” which includes Korean American actor Mike Moh. In the TV categories, the nominated ensemble of “Barry” includes Polynesian American actress Patricia Fa’asua and Turkish American actor Troy Caylak, while “The Handmaid’s Tale” has Serbian Canadian actress Nina Kiri, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” has Chinese American actress Stephanie Hsu, “Game of Thrones” has Indian Russian actor Staz Nair and “The Kominsky Method” has Chinese American actress Melissa Tang.
Latinos had very little representation among the nominees: “Hustlers” co-star Jennifer Lopez (who is Puerto Rican American) got a nomination for supporting actress, and Venezuelan actor Alejandro “Alex” Furth is among the nominated ensemble for “Barry.” Native Americans, who are always underrepresented in entertainment, were shut out of the SAG Awards this year. The LGBTQ community is represented primarily by straight actors playing gay characters, most notably Taron Egerton in Paramount Pictures’ Elton John musical biopic “Rocketman,” nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. The nominated “Jojo Rabbit” cast includes Sam Rockwell and Alfie Allen playing closeted gay Nazis. Meanwhile, “Bombshell” actresses Robbie and Kate McKinnon (who is an out lesbian in real life) play Fox News co-workers who are secret lovers.
Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2020 SAG Awards:
MOVIES
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
“Bombshell” (Lionsgate)
“The Irishman” (Netflix)
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox)
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (Sony)
“Parasite” (Neon)
Christian Bale (“Ford v Ferrari”)
Leonardo DiCaprio (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Adam Driver (“Marriage Story”)
Taron Egerton (“Rocketman”)
Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”)
Scarlett Johansson (“Marriage Story”)
Lupita Nyong’o (“Us”)
Charlize Theron (“Bombshell”)
Renée Zellweger (“Judy”)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Jamie Foxx (“Just Mercy”)
Tom Hanks (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”)
Al Pacino (“The Irishman”)
Joe Pesci (“The Irishman”)
Brad Pitt (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Laura Dern (“Marriage Story”)
Scarlett Johansson (“Jojo Rabbit”)
Nicole Kidman (“Bombshell”)
Jennifer Lopez (“Hustlers”)
Margot Robbie (“Bombshell”)
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
“Avengers: Endgame”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Joker”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
TELEVISION
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
“Big Little Lies” (HBO)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“Game of Thrones” (HBO)
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
“Barry” (HBO)
“Fleabag” (Amazon)
“The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)
“Schitt’s Creek” (Pop)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”)
Steve Carell (“The Morning Show”)
Billy Crudup (“The Morning Show”)
Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”)
David Harbour (“Stranger Things”)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Jennifer Aniston (“The Morning Show”)
Helena Bonham Carter (“The Crown”)
Olivia Colman (“The Crown”)
Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”)
Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alan Arkin (“The Kominsky Method”)
Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method”)
Bill Hader (“Barry”)
Andrew Scott (“Fleabag”)
Tony Shalhoub (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate (“Dead to Me”)
Alex Borstein (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Catherine O’Hara (“Schitt’s Creek”)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Mahershala Ali (“True Detective”)
Russell Crowe (“The Loudest Voice”)
Jared Harris (“Chernobyl”)
Jharrel Jerome (“When They See Us”)
Sam Rockwell (“Fosse/Verdon”)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Patricia Arquette (“The Act”)
Toni Collette (“Unbelievable”)
Joey King (“The Act”)
Emily Watson (“Chernobyl”)
Michelle Williams (“Fosse/Verdon”)
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series
“Game of Thrones”
“GLOW”
“Stranger Things”
“The Walking Dead”
“Watchmen”