The Screen Actors Guild has echoed other groups within the entertainment industry, by heaping praise on Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Martin McDonagh’s darkly comic thriller remains the film to beat as the Oscars draw closer, winning the best cast award, SAG’s equivalent of Best Picture.
In a ceremony hosted by a woman, with exclusively female presenters, in recognition of the Time’s Up anti-harassment campaign, Frances McDormand was named the best actress and Sam Rockwell also repeated his Golden Globes success in the best supporting actor category.
Gary Oldman was named the best actor by his peers for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour and Allison Janney won the best supporting actress Actor for her role in I, Tonya.
The SAG awards are generally seen as one of the more reliable predictors of acting Oscars because so many of the Academy Award voters are actors.
Like the recent Golden Globes, SAG uses this opportunity to honour TV performances as well as those on film. This is Us was the dominant TV drama, winning the best ensemble cast and seeing Sterling K Brown repeat his Globes success as best dramatic actor. Claire Foy was named the best dramatic actress for The Queen.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who missed the ceremony because she’s receiving treatment for breast cancer, became SAG’s most successful winner to date, winning two awards – one as the best actress in a comedy for Veep and another for being part of the ensemble cast. The best actor in a TV was William H Macy for Shameless.
In the TV movie or limited series categories, it was a sweep for Big Little Lies, with Nicole Kidman being named the best actress and Alexander Skarsgard winning the best actor prize.