SAG AWARDS: “Hidden Figures”, Stranger Things” take top prizes

Fox's historical drama “Hidden Figures” won the SAG Award for top ensemble cast on Sunday in an awards show that also saw “Fences”, “Moonlight”, and “La La Land” receiving recognition.

“This film is about unity; this is what happens when we put our differences aside,” said Taraji P. Henson — who plays mathematician Katherine Johnson — in accepting for “Hidden Figures”.

The film won over “Manchester by the Sea”, “Captain Fantastic”, “Fences”, and “Moonlight”. Awards season frontrunner “La La Land” was shut out of the category as voters apparently considered it more of a two-hander than ensemble piece.

The winner of the SAG ensemble trophy has matched the Oscar best picture winner 11 times in 21 years.

Denzel Washington won the best actor award for “Fences” and castmate Viola Davis took the supporting award. Emma Stone took the best actress award for her role as a struggling actress in “La La Land” and Mahershala Ali took the supporting actor trophy for “Moonlight”.

Netflix's freshman series “Stranger Things” won the drama series trophy, repeating Saturday's triumph at the Producers Guild of America Awards. It topped the final season of “Downton Abbey”, which had won the past two years.

Lily Tomlin received the SAG Life Achievement Award, presented by Dolly Parton. 

John Lithgow and Claire Foy won the drama series actor awards for Netflix's “The Crown” for their portrayals of Winston Churchill and Queen Elizabeth, respectively. “Orange Is the New Black” won the comedy ensemble trophy for the third straight year.

The evening was punctuated with an array of verbal attacks on President Donald Trump's ban on refugees and citizens from seven predominately Muslim countries from entering the United States. “This immigrant ban is a blemish and it is un-American,” said Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who won the actress trophy for comedy series for “Veep” for the second time.

William H. Macy won the actor in a comedy series for “Shameless”, winning the trophy a second time after taking the award in 2015.  Sarah Paulson won the best actress for TV movie or limited series for “The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”  Bryan Cranston took the best actor award in the TV movie or limited series category for his portrayal of Lyndon Baines Johnson in “All the Way”.

Source: Variety