31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2025): Television’s New Golden Age
When actors honor each other, there’s always a unique electricity in the air — because SAG Awards are not just another ceremony, they’re recognition from the tribe, a peer-chosen validation for performers whose work has moved audiences, shaped culture, and often updated the language of craft itself. The 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, streamed live on Netflix and hosted by Kristen Bell at the Shrine Auditorium on February 23, 2025, achieved exactly that: a mix of gratifying consensus, surprising upsets, and unapologetic celebration of finely wrought performances both subtle and bold.
Here’s a full breakdown of the nominees and winners — film and television — and why these choices matter in a season where the craft of acting continually redefines itself.
Film Categories — the year of performance first
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Nominees:
• Anora
• A Complete Unknown
• Conclave — WINNER
• Emilia Pérez
• Wicked
Often seen as the precursor to Best Picture at the Oscars, this SAG ensemble award went to Conclave, a film whose power derives less from bombast and more from the synchronous force of its performers — each supporting and lifting the other in scenes of emotional clutter and political gravity.
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees:
• Adrien Brody — The Brutalist
• Timothée Chalamet — A Complete Unknown — WINNER
• Daniel Craig — Queer
• Colman Domingo — Sing Sing
• Ralph Fiennes — Conclave
Timothée Chalamet’s win here was one of the night’s most resonant stories: playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, he became the youngest actor to take home this SAG honor, delivering a performance that married myth and intimacy with idiosyncratic bravado.
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees:
• Pamela Anderson — The Last Showgirl
• Cynthia Erivo — Wicked
• Karla Sofía Gascón — Emilia Pérez
• Mikey Madison — Anora
• Demi Moore — The Substance — WINNER
Demi Moore’s win for The Substance was a moment of collective appreciation: a fearless turn in a body-horror-against-society film that challenged and captivated. This wasn’t simply a performance; it was embodied inquiry — and SAG recognized it boldly.
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
• Jonathan Bailey — Wicked
• Yura Borisov — Anora
• Kieran Culkin — A Real Pain — WINNER
• Edward Norton — A Complete Unknown
• Jeremy Strong — The Apprentice
Culkin has quietly become one of the most textured actors of his generation, and SAG’s choice affirmed his chaotic but intensely grounded contribution to A Real Pain — an award that felt both deserved and overdue.
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
• Monica Barbaro — A Complete Unknown
• Jamie Lee Curtis — The Last Showgirl
• Danielle Deadwyler — The Piano Lesson
• Ariana Grande — Wicked
• Zoe Saldaña — Emilia Pérez — WINNER
Zoe Saldaña’s triumph here confirmed what critics had long whispered: her work in Emilia Pérez is electric, deeply nuanced, and unshakeably present in every frame. It’s a performance that gives the film its emotional center of gravity.
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Nominees:
• Deadpool & Wolverine
• Dune: Part Two
• The Fall Guy — WINNER
• Gladiator II
• Wicked
Action often gets overlooked in acting circles, but SAG reminds us that stunt work isn’t just technical — it’s performative storytelling through movement. The Fall Guy’s win here acknowledged that kinetic artistry.
Television — The new era of on-screen acting
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Nominees:
• Bridgerton
• The Day of the Jackal
• The Diplomat
• Shōgun — WINNER
• Slow Horses
Shōgun has been dominating every acting award it’s touched, and here was no exception — its ensemble’s commitment to measured, monumental storytelling earned them peer recognition.
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Nominees:
• Tadanobu Asano — Shōgun
• Jeff Bridges — The Old Man
• Gary Oldman — Slow Horses
• Eddie Redmayne — The Day of the Jackal
• Hiroyuki Sanada — Shōgun — WINNER
Sanada’s nuanced strength anchored Shōgun in ways that balanced scale and interior life — an example of acting as architecture: the structure that holds everything else up.
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Nominees:
• Kathy Bates — Matlock
• Nicola Coughlan — Bridgerton
• Allison Janney — The Diplomat
• Keri Russell — The Diplomat
• Anna Sawai — Shōgun — WINNER
Sawai’s win celebrated a performance that blends precision with emotional weather — the kind that lingers after the episode ends.
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
• Abbott Elementary
• The Bear
• Hacks
• Only Murders in the Building — WINNER
• Shrinking
Only Murders in the Building’s ensemble took the comedy crown — a reminder that timing and connection are at the heart of great television performance.
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
• Adam Brody — Nobody Wants This
• Ted Danson — A Man on the Inside
• Harrison Ford — Shrinking
• Martin Short — Only Murders in the Building — WINNER
• Jeremy Allen White — The Bear
Martin Short’s long-anticipated SAG win was a poignant snapshot of a career flourishing in late mid-career brilliance. Even health setbacks couldn’t dim the moment.
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominees:
• Kristen Bell — Nobody Wants This
• Quinta Brunson — Abbott Elementary
• Liza Colón-Zayas — The Bear
• Ayo Edebiri — The Bear
• Jean Smart — Hacks — WINNER
Jean Smart’s textured work in Hacks continues to resonate with her peers — elegant, fearless comedy that cuts deep.
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Nominees:
• Javier Bardem — Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
• Colin Farrell — The Penguin — WINNER
• Richard Gadd — Baby Reindeer
• Kevin Kline — Disclaimer
• Andrew Scott — Ripley
Farrell’s win was a reminder of his understated magnetism — compelling without ever calling attention to itself.
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Nominees:
• Kathy Bates — The Great Lillian Hall
• Cate Blanchett — Disclaimer
• Jodie Foster — True Detective: Night Country
• Lily Gladstone — Under the Bridge
• Jessica Gunning — Baby Reindeer — WINNER
• Cristin Milioti — The Penguin
Gunning’s win for Baby Reindeer testified to a performance rich in emotional intelligence — precise, vulnerable, and unforgettable.
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
Nominees:
• The Boys
• Fallout
• House of the Dragon
• The Penguin
• Shōgun — WINNER
Television stunts are theatrical choreography — and Shōgun’s win acknowledged that this craft lives at the intersection of danger and storytelling.
Final thoughts on the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
The 2025 SAG Awards weren’t just about who won — they were about why actors vote the way they do. From ensemble honors for Conclave and Shōgun to Timothée Chalamet’s historic Best Actor win and Demi Moore’s powerful female lead triumph, this night emphasized connection, craft, and emotional truth. These were actors celebrating actors, and the results reflected a year where vulnerability, precision, and profound presence were the true MVPs.
Check out the Screen Actors Guild website for more information about this award show! Which of the winners was your favorite? Let us know on social media!
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