Idris, Uzo, Queen Latifah & More: Black Excellence At The SAG Awards

The 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards turned into a show of strength for diversity in Hollywood. The show also won the best comedy ensemble award for a second successive year.

Idris Elba won two acting awards, for “Luther” and “Beasts of No Nation”. Idris Elba proudly said, “Welcome to diverse TV”. Embracing racial diversity again, the Screen Actors Guild awarded another of their staples, “How to Get Away with Murder” star Viola Davis, with Female Actor in a Drama Series, while Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries went to Queen Latifah for “Bessie’“.

“We have become a society of trending topics”, said Davis. “This always means a lot because it’s voted on by actors”, she said while holding her SAG Award. “And by that, she meant that audiences -Academy voters, everyone – should be more open-minded to African-American stories because they’re everyone’s stories”.

While the Academy Awards remain enveloped in a crisis over the diversity of its nominees, the 22nd annual SAG Awards on Saturday presented a stark antidote to the rancor that has overwhelmed Hollywood’s awards season.

Alicia thanked the transgender community in her acceptance speech: ‘To everyone involved that helped me from the transgender community and their friends and loved ones I couldn’t have done this role and done it without you guys’.

The cast of “Downton Abbey” won best outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series.

DiCaprio was named best actor for playing a fur-trapper in pioneer-era retribution drama The Revenant.

Since then, the organisation behind the awards has promised to double the number of female and minority members, a move welcomed by leading actors.

“Spotlight” took home the top prize of the night: outstanding performance by an ensemble cast. “I’m really just very grateful”, she said.

Kevin Spacey, who plays the role of Frank Underwood in House of Cards, brought Netflix its other award.

Viola Davis, Queen Latifah and Uzo Aduba all took home Best Actress wins in their respective categories last night, while Idris Elba won two SAG Awards for both of the categories he was nominated in-one for Beasts of No Nation, one for Luther.

Best actor in a TV comedy went to Jeffery Tambor for the acclaimed Amazon series ‘Transparent‘.