The SAG Awards is perhaps the most unique awards show in the film industry. It celebrates only one part of the industry, but it's the most visible part: acting. Spanning TV and film, the "Actor" is given to the finest performances of the past year. This year, in 2020, the winners list is full of surprises. And a lot of them, unsurprisingly, had memorable acceptance speeches. Here are our top 5 that really stood out:Â
Robert De NiroÂ
Receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, Robert De Niro definitely had a lot to say. In fact, he's had a lot to say in the past few years. A walking "F*ck You!" to the current US administration, the screen icon, who starred in films such as "Taxi Driver," "The Godfather II," and "Casino," has been politically vocal as of late. He's been one of the loudest opposition voices against the current US President Donald Trump, and at the SAG Awards, he decided to throw another punch. In his speech, made sure that his opinion was heard from his very visible platform.Â
Jennifer Anniston
One would think, with her decades-long career, Jennifer Anniston has won an Actor or two. But winning for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series this year, for her role as Alex Levy in "The Morning Show," was actually her first. Evidently, shock doesn't even begin to describe what she might have felt. "What!?" she exclaimed upon approaching the podium. She then talked about her humble beginnings as an actor (under SAG) and thanked the people behind her drama series. Perhaps, however, the most memorable part was when she mentioned Adam Sandler, her "Just Go With It" co-star, for his performance for "Undercut Gems." Sandler was notably not nominated for that role in both the SAG Awards and the Oscars.Â
Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time in Hollywood Autographed Poster | Click here to purchase)Â
As for Anniston's ex, Brad Pitt, he also won big that night winning the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Actor for his performance as Cliff Booth in "Once Upon A Time in Hollywood." He made the funniest speech that night too. "I gotta add this to my Tinder profile" he started it off, and from there on, he was on fire. He even put in a jab for himself, joking that he played a difficult part of "a guy who gets high, takes his shirt off, and doesn't get on with his wife." To which the crowd in the room was left howling with laughter.Â
Joaquin Phoenix
The most non-shocking win of the night goes to Joaquin Phoenix. Ever since his "Joker" film premiered, Hollywood has been buzzing that he will win most, if not all of the awards. And so far, he has. But while he's not that big about awards in general, he did use this win to pay tribute to a fellow actor. One who famously played his award-winning role and won the first posthumous acting Oscar for it, Heath Ledger. "Really, I'm standing here on the shoulders of my favorite actor, Heath Ledger," he warm-heartedly confessed in his speech.Â
Parasite Cast
For the first foreign-language cast (from a foreign-language film) to have won the Actor for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, of course, the Parasite Cast's acceptance speech will be iconic. But it was the heart-wrenching humility of the actors that really sealed the moment. Upon announcing their name, the cast jumped up and shouted in jubilee for their incredible record-breaking win. And in his speech, actor Song Kang-Ho said, "To be honored with Best Ensemble award, it occurs to me that maybe we haven't created such a bad movie". Now, "parasite is the only foreign-language film up for the Best Picture award at this year's Oscars.Â
To say that the 2020 SAG Awards was memorable is an understatement. This year, the broke ground, had amazing comebacks and even dipped into politics. It doesn't get any more 2020 than this!Â