Troy Kotsur makes history at Screen Actors Guild Awards

The 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards opened with a first: Troy Kotsur became the only deaf actor to ever win an individual acting award from Hollywood's actors guild.

In the night's first televised award, Kotsur won best supporting actor for his performance in the family drama “CODA.” Kotsur, a veteran 53-year-old actor who gave a breakthrough performance in Sian Heder's film, had already been the first deaf actor nominated individually for a SAG award.

When his name was read, Kotsur plunged his head into his hands. On stage, he praised “CODA” as the rare film to portray a deaf family authentically. But he concluded comically.

“Thank you for my wife for reminding me to check my fly before walking the red carpet," said Kotsur.

While the best supporting actor category has been seen as a close contest between Kotsur and Kodi Smit-McPhee of “The Power of the Dog,” Ariana DeBose of “West Side Story” has been the clear frontrunner in best supporting actress. She confirmed that status with a win Sunday.

"It's taken me a long time to feel comfortable calling myself an actor," said DeBose. “My roots come from the dance world and the Broadway stage, and the Anita that we see on screen took every bit of me but she took 10 years to make."

The SAG Awards were being held at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and aired on both TNT and TBS. (The show will also be available to stream Monday on HBO Max.) After the January Golden Globes were a non-event, the Screen Actors Guild Awards were Hollywood's first major, televised, in-person award show — complete with a red carpet and teary-eyed speeches — this year.

The “Hamilton” trio of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs kicked off the broadcast with the declared theme of “together again.”

“We’ve returned to a world where all we have to do to hang out like this is get dressed up, show up, get swapped, sanitized, screened, masked, vaccinated, boosted, rapid-tested and PCR-cleared within 24 hours,” said Odom Jr. “Now who’s ready to party?”

Some casts, citing quarantine regulations related to production schedules, appeared remotely — including the lead television nominee, “Ted Lasso.” Appearing by video link with his castmates around him, Jason Sudeikis accepted the award for best actor in a comedy series. The Apple TV+ show was later named best comedy series ensemble.

While the Academy Awards aren't mandating vaccination for presenters (just attendees), it was required for the SAG Awards, which are voted on by the Hollywood actors’ guild SAG-AFTRA. One actor in the cast of the Paramount series “Yellowstone,” Forrie J. Smith, has said he wouldn't attend because he isn't vaccinated.

A pair of blockbusters on both the big and small screen took stunt ensemble awards announced before the show: Netflix's “Squid Game” and the James Bond film “No Time to Die."

Kate Winslet was to present the actors' lifetime achievement award to Mirren, a five-time SAG Award winner.

Five films are nominated for the SAG Awards' top honor, best ensemble: Kenneth Branagh's “Belfast,” Sian Heder's coming-of-age drama “CODA,” Adam McKay's apocalypse comedy “Don't Look Up,” Ridley Scott's high-camp “House of Gucci” and Reinaldo Marcus Green's family tennis drama “King Richard.”

The leading Oscar nominee, Jane Campion's “The Power of the Dog,” failed to land a best ensemble nominations but three of its actors — Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and Kodi Smit-McPhee — scored individual nods.

Winning best ensemble doesn't automatically make a movie the Oscar favorite, but actors hold the largest sway because they constitute the largest percentage of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Last year, the actors chose Aaron Sorkin's 1960s courtroom drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” while best picture at the Oscars went to “Nomadland." The year before, SAG’s pick of “Parasite” presaged the Oscar winner.