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Actors lived their best lives at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday night — presenting each other with trophies and looking damn good doing it.
Viewers put aside their usual Netflix series for an evening and watched their favorite actors share their “I'm an Actor” stories at the SAG Awards. Christopher Nolan's atomic bomb epic “Oppenheimer” continued to enjoy popularity heading into the Oscars on March 10, and “The Bear” and “Succession” scored big on television, but streaming gave the SAG Awards a much-needed boost needed success brightening. Instead of commercials, we had winners talking to interviewers between awards, no one was upset by a nervous orchestra conductor checking the clock, and swearing was okay because, hey, it's Netflix. And things could be a lot worse than having Idris Elba as your surprise de facto host.
Here are some of the key moments you may have missed:
Pedro Pascal, Ali Wong and Idris Elba drop F-bombs
Airing the SAG Awards on Netflix meant that many things were different from the usual network broadcasts, including no one using the beep button. Elba, who ended up delivering the opening monologue for the unhosted ceremony, used his F-bomb while giving a lesson on the use of curse words. “Don't say anything you wouldn't say in front of Oprah,” Elba advised as the camera pointed to a smiling Oprah Winfrey. “(expletive). That was Oprah.”
After winning a SAG Award for “Beef,” Ali Wong thanked her 83-year-old mother in the audience, “who is here in her pearls and Tevas because she doesn't give a (expletive)” and a slightly drunk Pedro Pascal, who she took He received a lead actor trophy for “The Last of Us” and recalled that he had been with SAG-AFTRA since 1999. “This is an incredible (expletive) honor.” (A little irony: all of the clips from shows and movies used in the ceremony have their profanities muted.)
Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway are having a “The Devil Wears Prada” reunion
We wondered why Meryl Streep almost pulled out a mic stand and pretended she forgot her glasses. It was all part of a fun but quick reunion with her The Devil Wears Prada co-stars Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway. “It's an age-old question: Where does the actor end and where does the character begin?” Streep said, to which Blunt replied, “Meryl and Miranda Priestly are like twins,” referring to Streep's bossy fashionista. Streep said she didn't think she was anything like her character, but Hathaway interrupted her: “No, no, it wasn't. “One question.” Blunt then commented on Streep's slowness one last time to the Award: “Make sure you move at a glacial pace.” You know how much that excites me.
It was a little short since we had our loins girded, but it was a cool moment for movie fans.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Lily Gladstone find inspiration during their acceptance speeches
There were nice little moments for the evening's honorees: 6-foot-10 Elizabeth Debicki was shocked by her win on “The Crown” and took off her shoes before accepting her award, while Robert Downey Jr. continued to mull over another Winning as a supporting actor at this award reveled season. “Why me? Why now? Why do things seem to go my way? “Unlike my fellow nominees, I will never tire of the sound of my own voice,” the “Oppenheimer” star joked.
But a few speeches touched the heart. Supporting actress winner Da'Vine Joy Randolph spoke about her grieving “Holdovers” character's journey (“Grief is a slippery feeling”) and called being celebrated by other actors the “greatest honor of my career.” “For every actor waiting.” Here in the starting blocks for your chance, your life can change in a day. It's not a question of if, it's a question of when.” And after slapping her trophy on the head, “Killers of the Flower Moon” featured breakout hit Lily Gladstone – who made history as the first Indigenous performer to be featured at the SAG Awards best actress was awarded – a similar statement after a “hard road” of a year marked by strikes. “That's the victory of being on set and telling stories.” “We're bringing empathy to a world that desperately needs it,” she said. “Continue to speak your truths and continue to stand up for one another.”
Billie Eilish loudly signs an autograph on Melissa McCarthy's forehead
It was a surprisingly dynamic duo: Grammy-winning pop star Billie Eilish and Oscar-nominated comedian Melissa McCarthy were responsible for one of the funniest moments of the night. They presented the award for Female Actress in a TV Comedy and McCarthy was delighted to be in Eilish's company. “We met twice. You met my daughters and my dogs,” McCarthy said, mentioning that Eilish’s mother was her first improv teacher. “That’s a lot,” Eilish deadpanned.
To commemorate the moment, McCarthy first asked Eilish to sign her dress, but the singer replied, “I don't want to ruin it.” Eilish agreed to draw McCarthy's face, holding a marker to her forehead and she had a hard time keeping it together while laughing. “That was unexpected. “I'll take that too,” said McCarthy, slipping the pen up her sleeve.
Barbra Streisand argues about why she loves movies as she accepts her lifetime achievement award
Here's a look at what an icon Streisand is: No one said a word and everyone listened intently during her long speech as she accepted the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award – and she snagged not one, but two high-profile presenters, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Aniston. “This face. This voice. This talent. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime talent and what a blessing it is in our lives,” Aniston said of Streisand. “Barbra didn’t just pave the way for us, she leveled it.”
Streisand, 81, a SAG-AFTRA member for more than 60 years, took the crowd back to her days as a teenager in Brooklyn, looking at coffee ice cream and movie magazines, where the movies offered her an escape: “I didn't do it .” “I don't like reality.” She once bought a 25-cent ticket to “Guys and Dolls” and found “my first crush,” Marlon Brando. “He was so real, so believable, and I wanted to be the one he fell in love with, not Jean Simmons.”
Streisand praised her fellow “Funny Girl” filmmakers who “had no problem with a young woman with opinions,” spoke of her “dreams of a world where prejudice is a thing of the past,” and accepted the “fabulous” honor. “To my fellow actors and directors: I loved working with you, acting with you and living with you in the magical world of film,” she said. “And most of all, I want to thank you for giving me so much joy watching you all on screen.”