An awards ceremony can always be relied upon to deliver heaps of red carpet glamour, powerful speeches and unexpected moments of celebrity bonding, and the 2022 Screen Actors Guild awards were no exception. As the show got underway in Santa Monica on Sunday 27 February, there were plenty of moments that set the internet abuzz as the guild honoured performers in 15 categories across film and television.

Marlee Matlin, the only deaf actor to ever win an Academy Award, owned the spotlight when the Apple TV+ drama Coda pulled off a surprise victory in the category for best ensemble in a movie.

Accepting the award on behalf of her team, the Oscar-winning performer said she was “stunned” at the win, before thanking Apple for picking up the movie from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where it wowed audiences with its story about a deaf family raising their hearing daughter.

“Sian Heder, our director and writer, we tip our hat to you,” Matlin said in her speech. “Thank you for writing the words and including deaf culture. We love you. Thank you all of the CODA interpreters and all CODAs [children of deaf adults] everywhere all over the world. My kids, four of them, are CODAs. You are all our peers. We, deaf actors, have come a long way. 35 years I’ve been seeing so much work out there in all this time, I’ve watched all of your films, and I pay the deepest respect to all of you.

“This validates the fact that we deaf actors can work like anyone else,” Matlin continued. “We look forward to more opportunities for deaf actors.”

Ariana Debose also made SAG awards history when she took home the the award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role for West Side Story, becoming the first openly queer woman and first Afro-Latina to win an individual film Screen Actors Guild award.

“It’s taken a long time for me to feel comfortable calling myself an actor,” she said in her acceptance speech. “The Anita that we see on the screen took every bit of me, but she took 10 years to make and I’m extremely proud of her and of our film. And I really do believe that when you recognise one of us you recognise all of us in a way.”

The actor, who recently received her first Oscar nomination for best supporting actress, also reflected on the wider significance of the win backstage.

“It’s an honour to be seen, it’s an honour to be an Afro-Latina, an openly queer woman of colour, a dancer, a singer and an actor,” she told the media. “It’s indicative of me that I will not be the last and that’s the important part. Whatever firsts are attached to my name are immensely special to me but focused on if I’m the first of anything then I will not be the last.” 

One of the most moving moments of the night came when Helen Mirren picked up the SAG Life Achievement award, introduced by her Collateral Beauty co-star Kate Winslet on video and Cate Blanchett in person.

While introducing Mirren, Winslet, who also won best female actor in a limited series or TV movie for Mare Of Easttown, celebrated her immense range.

“Her acting power is immeasurable and magnetic,” Winslet said. “From attorneys, assassins, detectives and spies, monarchs and wives, her performances give us real human beings, unvarnished, untethered.”

“The privilege of watching her is rivalled only by the pleasure of working with her,” she continued. “On set she’s warm and approachable, collaborative and kind, prepared to make mistakes in raising the bar, bringing us all together. She’s a champion of others.”

Winslet then took a moment to highlight Mirren’s remarkable longevity in an industry that privileges youth.

“She’s staggeringly beautiful and continues to fly the flag for women above the age of 45. She confirms what we hope would one day be recognised in this industry – that women just get better with age.

“We’ve seen a fraction of her work thus far, we tremble in anticipation of what she’ll do next,” Winslet added.

In a speech filled with witty lines, Mirren then dedicated her award to a long line of distinguished actors such as Winslet, Olivia Colman, Vanessa Kirby and Michaela Coel who have inspired her throughout her life.

“I joined our tribe of rogues and vagabonds a long time ago,” Mirren said while accepting the award. “It is you actors that I want to thank for your wit and your humour – I’ve laughed all my life, honestly. Your perception, your emotional generosity, your great intelligence, and your incredible energy, and your helpless dedication to our chosen profession.”

The actor also shared the personal “mantra” that she believes to be her secret to long-term success: “Be on time and don’t be an ass.” Can we get an ‘amen’ up in here?

Images: Getty