The film “One Battle After Another” has made history by securing a record seven nominations for the upcoming SAG-AFTRA Actor Awards. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, this revolutionary saga has outstripped previous records, as no film in the 31-year history of the awards has received more than five nominations. The nominations were announced on Wednesday, highlighting the film’s strong ensemble cast, which includes prominent actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Chase Infiniti, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Teyana Taylor, alongside its stunt performers.
The film’s nominations include the prestigious award for best ensemble, a key indicator for potential success at the Oscars. Historically, films that win the SAG ensemble award often go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Notably, only four films in the past three decades have won the Oscar without a SAG ensemble nomination. Other contenders for best ensemble this year are “Sinners,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” and “Frankenstein,” with “Sinners” earning a particularly impressive total of five nominations, including a nod for best male actor for Michael B. Jordan.
In the television category, the competition is fierce, with Apple’s “The Studio,” HBO’s “White Lotus,” and Netflix’s “Adolescence” leading the pack in nominations. The Actor Awards, presented by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, are often viewed as a reliable forecast for the Oscars. With actors comprising the largest branch of the Academy, there is a significant overlap between SAG nominees and Oscar nominees, with a historical rate of approximately four out of five nominees aligning.
The nominees for the best male actor include DiCaprio, Timothée Chalamet for “Marty Supreme,” Michael B. Jordan for “Sinners,” Ethan Hawke for “Blue Moon,” and Jesse Plemons for “Bugonia.” Plemons’ nomination stands out as a surprise, while Chalamet remains a strong favorite, having won the same award last year for “A Complete Unknown.”
The best female actor category features Infiniti, Jessie Buckley for “Hamnet,” Rose Byrne for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Kate Hudson for “Song Sung Blue,” and Emma Stone for “Bugonia.” In the supporting male actor category, nominees include Del Toro, Penn, Miles Caton, Jacob Elordi for “Frankenstein,” and Paul Mescal for “Hamnet.” The nominees for best supporting female actor are Taylor, Wunmi Mosaku, Ariana Grande for “Wicked: For Good,” Amy Madigan for “Weapons,” and Odessa A’zion for “Marty Supreme,” with A’zion’s nomination being a notable surprise.
Certain films, such as Joachim Trier’s acclaimed “Sentimental Value,” were notably absent from the nominations, despite strong performances expected from Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård. This absence is particularly striking since Skarsgård was considered a frontrunner in the supporting male actor category. The SAG Awards tend to favor populist choices, and with over 122,000 voting members, the guild often overlooks non-English language films, despite the Academy’s increasingly international membership.
Looking ahead to the Oscar nominations on January 22, 2024, films like the Iranian drama “It Was Just an Accident” and the Brazilian thriller “The Secret Agent” may have better prospects. The SAG Awards have previously shown discrepancies with the Oscars; for instance, last year, Chalamet won best male actor at the SAG Awards but lost at the Oscars to Adrien Brody for “The Brutalist.”
The television side of the nominations also showcases a dynamic range of talent. “The Studio” leads in the comedy category with nominations for its ensemble and key performers including Seth Rogen and Kathryn Hahn. In the drama category, “The White Lotus” stands out with four nominations, including best ensemble and individual nods for Parker Posey and Walton Goggins.
The SAG Awards ceremony will take place on March 1, 2024, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, with Netflix streaming the event live. During the ceremony, Harrison Ford will be honored with the guild’s life achievement award, adding a highlight to an already anticipated event.
