Spotlight Wins SAG Award, Shaking up Oscars Race

You can consider the Oscars race officially shaken up. The Screen Actors Guild handed out their awards to their fellow members, and your big award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture went to Spotlight, bucking the recent rise of The Revenant, the big winner at the Globes, and The Big Short, the big winner at the Producers Guild Awards. All of these are considered key awards on the long, winding road to winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards, so these splits should leave Oscar prognosticators in a state of genuine bafflement.

As for the individual awards, what might you glean from Leonardo DiCaprio's win for Oustanding Performance? Well, here's what you can glean—if there ever were a year where it would really be a surprise if Leo didn't win the Oscar for acting, this would be it. His performance in The Revenant has been lauded by consensus, and the always a Bridegroom DiCaprio looks to finally have a lock on the Oscar. As for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor, the award went to Brie Larson for her excellent work as Ma in Room. 

There was something else notable happening at the SAG Awards—diversity was on display and African American actors were lauded. Idis Elba was awarded twice, one for Oustanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for his incredible work in Beasts of No Nation, and a second time for Outstanding performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries for his work on Luther. Viola Davis won Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series for her work in How to Get Away With Murder, Uzo Aduba won Oustanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for her work on Orange is the New Black, and Queen Latifah won Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries for her work in Bessie.

For the complete list of 2016 SAG Awards winners, click here.