Joaquin Phoenix received the award for best performance by an actor in a motion picture drama for the movie Joker during the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
joaquin’s tribute to heath..... i’m not crying, you are. pic.twitter.com/xG7ubiwzem
— kaz. (@joaquinsjoker) January 20, 2020
Phoenix spent his acceptance speech highlighting the work of his fellow nominees and also paying tribute to Heath Ledger.
Ledger famously portrayed the comic book villain in 2008's "The Dark Knight" and won numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a SAG Award.
With his win, Phoenix, an Oscar nominee, is on the way to collecting the same trio of awards for the role.
CNN reports that the event's most surprising element might have been the acceptance speeches, which were virtually devoid of politics, other than Robert De Niro's remarks in receiving a life achievement honor.
The win for best foreign film "Parasite" broke up what had been a night that saw people of color entirely overlooked, as the industry comes under increased scrutiny for a lack of diversity in its awards.
Director Bong Joon Ho was shown proudly recording the cast's win from his seat in the audience.
"I’m standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor, Heath Ledger"pic.twitter.com/AeSjKoT1tP #JoaquinPhoenix #SAGAwards
— George Roussos (@baphometx) January 20, 2020
The guild awards are watched closely for clues on how the Oscar race might turn out, but the perceived Oscar frontrunner, the World War I epic "1917," doesn't really lend itself to the "ensemble" designation, and wasn't among SAG's nominees.
Joaquin Phoenix and Renee Zellweger received the top acting prizes for "Joker" and "Judy," playing the comic-book villain and the tormented singer Judy Garland.
The supporting movie awards also went to presumed favorites, as Laura Dern and Brad Pitt claimed awards for "Marriage Story" and "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood." (Jennifer Lopez -- overlooked by the Oscars for her role in "Hustlers" -- was among those she overcame.)
"I've been banging away at this thing for 30 years. I think the simple math is, some projects work and some don't. There's no reason to belabor either one. Just get on to the next" #righton #SAGAwardspic.twitter.com/mlEw37DQpH
— Scott Galloway (@profgalloway) January 20, 2020
Pitt offered a humorous acceptance speech, opening by saying, "I've got to add this to my Tinder profile." He proceeded to joke that the role -- a guy who takes off his shirt with a spotty marital track record -- really wasn't much of a reach for him.
New Joker talks about Best Batman. pic.twitter.com/tyKjAOxVoZ
— MOVIERF (@Movierff) January 20, 2020
As if on cue, Pitt's ex-wife, Jennifer Aniston, later picked up a trophy for the backstage drama "The Morning Show," marking the first win for fledgling programming service Apple TV+.
EXCLUSIVE: Brad Pitt stopping everything he was doing to watch Jennifer Aniston’s #SAGAwards acceptance speech got us feeling everything. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/du3wwB7xWW
— E! Online Asia (@eonlineasia) January 20, 2020
The win was indicative of a night in which SAG voters spread the wealth among a variety of services. Amazon snagged its second best comedy ensemble prize for "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" as well as actor Tony Shalhoub, and added Phoebe Waller-Bridge for the Emmy-winning "Fleabag."
Netflix's history of the British Royal family, "The Crown," was crowned for the first time as best drama ensemble.
please the way phoebe said the CROWN! YAY! pic.twitter.com/muA0qb5LRs
— molly (@dohertycrown) January 20, 2020
Peter Dinklage won for the first time -- after six nominations -- for HBO's "Game of Thrones."
"I'd like to thank my wife for putting up with me for more than 9 years, but lived in a place far away from home, but made it home." Peter Dinklage has a sweet message for his wife during his #SAGAwards acceptance speech https://t.co/4j0S6Mi7xl pic.twitter.com/StRBkQnxoc
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 20, 2020
