by Julia Pierrepont III
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- In Hollywood's actors' tribute to their own, the 24th Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards showcased many luminaries Sunday night, but none shone brighter than the talent in the film "Three Billboards Outside of Eddings, Missouri," which took home three of the top awards including the best ensemble, best actress and best supporting actor.
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," a dark comedy crime film directed by Martin McDonagh and starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, John Hawkes and Peter Dinklage, follows a mother who takes matters into her own hands after local police are unable to find a likely suspect in her daughter's murder. She purchases three highly visible billboards to call public attention to the unsolved crime -- with unforeseen consequences.
Inspired by last year's Women's March, the producers chose women to host the event and present the awards.
"Truth is power and women are stepping into their power," said Gabrielle Carteris, president of Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), noting that Hollywood is "in the midst of a cultural shift."
The show began with a salute to dreamers, with young Millie Bobby Brown of "Stranger Things" telling other young girls, "I believe in you. Believe in your dreams and follow your hearts."
Actress/comedienne, Kristen Bell, of "The Good Place," took pride of place as the inaugural host and joked.
On a more serious note, she said, "Everyone's story deserves to be told -- especially now. We are living in a watershed moment and as we march forward with active momentum and open ears, let's make sure we are leading the charge with empathy and with diligence because fear and anger never win the race."
Leading off the awards was Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series, nabbed by William H. Macy for his portrayal as the hard-drinking patriarch of a dysfunctional, down and out brood in "Shameless."
Macy told the attentive audience, "Acting is about truth ...It's a glorious way to make a living, especially in this day and age when so many either can't recognize the truth or don't think its important."
Next up, Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series went to -- no surprise -- Julia Louise Dreyfus for "Veep." A perennial favorite who has won this category seven times before, Dreyfus is currently undergoing chemo treatments for breast cancer and could not be on hand to accept her award.
The Outstanding Ensemble in Comedy Series also went to "Veep," an insider joke on the absurdity of unqualified, high maintenance politicians.
The Best Supporting Female Actress nod went to Allison Janney, for her hard-hitting role as an embittered, controlling mother in "I, Tanya."
Daniel Kaluuya introduced "Get Out," calling it "equal parts social commentary and provocative thriller" and saying Jordan Peele's directorial debut "transcends genres to become a touchstone for conversations about race in America."
The Best Supporting Male Actor Award went to 4-time nominee, Sam Rockwell, for his role as the dimwitted racist cop in "Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri."
Alexander Skarsgard won the award of Outstanding Male Actor in TV Movie or Limited Series for "Big Little Lies," which also helped 10-time nominee Nicole Kidman win Outstanding Female Actor in this category.
Rita Moreno received a standing ovation when she took the stage to present Morgan Freeman with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Morgan, too, got a standing ovation in recognition of his enormous body of work in which he played everything from a children's show host, a kindly chauffeur, a high tech genius, indomitable boxing coach, back-chatting Moor, Shakespeare's Coriolanus, President of the United States, the great pacifist leader, Nelson Mandela, and, yes, even God. Twice.
Sterling K. Brown walked away with the Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series Award, for "This is Us," saying, "What a blessing it is to do what you love for a living and what an honor it is to be recognized by your peers for a job well done...We embrace ourselves for who we are."
The Outstanding Cast in a Drama Series was carried off by the powerful blended family drama, "This is Us," beating out "The Crown," "Game of Thrones," "The Handmaid's Tale," and "Stranger Things."
Claire Foy was crowned as Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, for her artful rendition of Queen Elizabeth in Netflix's "The Crown."
The top film award for Outstanding Male Actor in a Motion Picture went to a visibly moved Gary Oldman, who teared up on the podium during his acceptance speech. "Churchill reminds us that we make a living by what we get, but we get a life by what we give and you have given enormously tonight," he shared.
The inimitable Frances McDormand carried off her third Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Award for her stunning portrayal of a grief-enraged mother in "Three Billboards Outside of Eddings, Missouri."
"Golly, Gee Wiz," she enthused when accepting her award. "To those tireless men and women who represent us truly -- our desires, our dreams, our individual strengths and our ethical beliefs -- to them we owe a great deal." She also thanked her writer/director, Martin McDonagh, for "serving the 'Word' when he wrote a meticulously created tsunami, then allowed his troupe of actors to surf it into the shore."
SAG-AFTRA, an American labor union formed by the merger of SAG and AFTRA in 2012, represents 160,000 film and television actors and background performers worldwide. Their annual SAG Awards is the only awards ceremony where actors are judged exclusively by their own peers. The SAG Awards are considered as the indicators of likely Oscar success in March.
