CALIFORNIA — The Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) awards -- which took place online last year due to Covid-19 -- returned to an in-person event Sunday in Santa Monica, just outside Los Angeles.
And the stars did not disappoint on the first big red carpet event of Hollywood's awards season, with Cate Blanchett stunning in a low-cut black Armani gown, and Chastain donning a sparkling Dior suit.
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Helen Mirren -- in a floor-length pink Dolce & Gabbana gown -- was honored with SAG's lifetime achievement award, chalking her Oscar-winning career up to a mantra of "be on time and don't be an ass."
"Thank you S-A-G," she said, spelling out each letter, before joking: "I hate to say the word 'sag' at my age."
The annual "In Memoriam" montage paid tribute to actors who have died in the past year, including Sidney Poitier, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Ned Beatty and Betty White.
In the television categories, "Squid Game" actors Lee Jung-jae and Jung Ho-yeon looked visibly shocked to win best actor and actress in a drama.
Both South Koreans spoke through a translator before Jung switched into broken English, thanking the Hollywood group for "open(ing) the door for me."
"Succession" won the best drama ensemble prize, with star Brian Cox one of many to praise Ukrainian president and former actor Volodymyr Zelensky.
Cox drew a standing ovation for "a wonderful comic performer" as his country resists the "truly, truly awful" Russian invasion.
Michael Keaton, who won best actor in a limited series for "Dopesick," also praised "a fellow actor in Zelensky who deserves some credit tonight for fighting the fight."
Keaton broke down into tears as he dedicated the win to his nephew Michael, one of more than half a million Americans to die of an overdose deaths in the opioid crisis that is the subject of "Dopesick."
Capping an excellent night for Apple TV+, the relatively new streamer also won best comedy series prizes for "Ted Lasso" and its star Jason Sudeikis.