Everything Everywhere All at Once just tipped the balance sheet heading into the Oscars on March 12. The mind-bending sci-fi hit cleaned up at the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) Sunday night, with four of the major wins, making it a record for the awards show.
The multiverse dramedy secured another Best Female Actor win for Michelle Yeoh, who paid tribute to close competition “titans,” Cate Blanchett (Tar) and Viola Davis (The Woman King). Yeoh was the favorite—and deservedly so—and gave a heartfelt, emotional speech, also cursing hilariously when she was overcome.
“This is not just for me, this is for every girl who looks like me,” she said, according to The Guardian. “Thank you for giving me a seat at the table.”
Grab your tissues and prepare to be moved by the ICONIC Michelle Yeoh! #SAGAwards pic.twitter.com/ZPHoOkHb7u
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) February 27, 2023
Continuing their awesome friendship award show moments, Yeoh and her Everything co-star, Jamie Lee Curtis, were ecstatic about each other’s wins.
omg here’s Jamie Lee Curtis yelling “shut up!” and then kissing Michelle Yeoh on the lips after winning her SAG award pic.twitter.com/5cBtzSOfxg
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) February 27, 2023
Proud ‘nepo baby’ Curtis
Curtis also got her own award, for Best Supporting Female Actor, for her turn as the amusingly droll IRS agent-nemesis to Yeoh’s dry cleaning lady in Everything. She embraced the controversial “nepo baby” label being thrown about, but also shrugged it off, choosing to celebrate her big win as a 64-year-old woman.
"“I know you look at me and you think ‘nepo baby’, and that’s why she’s there and I totally get it. But the truth of the matter is that I’m 64 years old and this is totally amazing,” said Curtis during her acceptance speech."
Wins for 60+ women in an ageist Hollywood have been quite a trend this awards season, one that we just can’t get enough of.
.@JamieLeeCurtis shares her love for acting during her #SAGAwards acceptance speech pic.twitter.com/z9DQmHm5yR
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 27, 2023
She also continued to own the nepo baby title during the “why I became an actor” segment. In fact, the “actor starts” anecdotes were a real highlight of the program and another example of the kind of positivity that the SAG Awards tapped into that made it a more joyful affair than say this year’s dismal Golden Globes.
Congratulations to Jamie Lee Curtis on her SAG Award and for getting fired all those years ago so she could audition for a little tiny no budget horror movie called “Halloween” #SAGAwards #Halloween #MichaelMyers pic.twitter.com/QJBTHxe6bi
— HalloweenVerse (@HalloweenVerse) February 27, 2023
Everything Everywhere All at Once party continues
Joining in the accolades was also Ke Huy Quan, who won Best Supporting Actor, and celebrated his historic win by shouting out to all his Asian peers. His beautiful enthusiasm has been a glorious journey all year long, and if you haven’t followed his highlights on Instagram, you really need to!
Ke Huy Quan is a national treasure. #SAGAwards2023 #KeHuyQuan pic.twitter.com/Z4tzxsGqaF
— SAG Awards® (@SAGawards) February 27, 2023
Both he and Michelle Yeoh made history as the first Asian actors to win the Best Actor statues. Quan said that the few opportunities for Asians in the industry contributed to him taking a long break from acting, but he noted that the “landscape looked so different now than before,” and celebrated the numerous Asian actors who were nominated this year.
The historic fourth award went to the entire ensemble of Everything Everywhere All at Once, where they handed the thespian statue to the film patriarch, 94-year-old James Hong, who got his SAG card 69 years ago! His speech is worth watching in its entirety and was the best moment of the night for me.
Michelle Yeoh and the EEAAO cast honoring the great James Hong during their SAG speech has me EMOTIONAL: "He just turned 94 years young, and it's been 69 years in the making to get him to the stage. Our patriarch, our friend, our gung-gung: James Hong!" pic.twitter.com/PByqsvA5WM
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) February 27, 2023
Other highlights
He’s been the favorite all season long (for his incredible performance in The Whale), so no surprise that Brendan Fraser beat out stiff competition from Austin Butler (Elvis), continuing the comeback journey everyone is cheering for. His emotional speech was another endearing highlight.
brendan fraser sharing advices ian mckellen gave to him to get through his sag award acceptance speech pic.twitter.com/tojC6KEIgf
— sam (@wizardalf) February 27, 2023
A truly unforgettable performance. Brendan Fraser is taking home his first individual SAG Award for his portrayal of Charlie in The Whale. #SAGAwards
— Netflix Tudum (@NetflixTudum) February 27, 2023
Read more: https://t.co/TCDtMMXSoJ pic.twitter.com/8SOpNrPvXY
Jennifer Coolidge won for Female Actor in a Drama Series, The White Lotus. Another 60+ actor (hurray!), she teared up thinking of her father and the time he snuck her out of school in the first grade so they could enjoy a Charlie Chaplin film festival (how cool is that?).
‘It was impossible for them to lie’ — Jennifer Coolidge credits the one time her dad lied for creating her love of acting while accepting the SAG award for Female Actor in a Drama Series for her performance in ‘The White Lotus’ pic.twitter.com/WZRp1CB8ct
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 27, 2023
Another favorite moment was courtesy of two dark comedy actors, Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) and Aubrey Plaza (White Lotus, but really, she’s like in everything!). Comedic gold. Also, someone needs to put these two in a project stat!
Jenna Ortega and Aubrey Plaza presenting together at the SAG Awards: “I don’t know why they paired us up… we have nothing in common.” pic.twitter.com/3tP7ihaF6F
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) February 27, 2023
As if Sally Field’s Lifetime Achievement Award wouldn’t be enough, this also gave us the feels for her Spiderman reunion with Andrew Garfield. These two just seem attached at the hip and also need another project together.
Andrew Garfield and Sally Field’s lasting bond is the most wholesome thing. #SAGAwards pic.twitter.com/7T2iAjkGqn
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) February 27, 2023
This also gave Austin Butler the opportunity to play gentlemen as he helped the 87-year-old legendary actor to the stage.
Get you a man like Austin Butler. #SAGAwards (🎥: Courtesy of the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®) pic.twitter.com/rm0h4EYfb4
— E! News (@enews) February 27, 2023
Not once, but twice.
Austin butler and Jennifer Coolidge pic.twitter.com/Dat8bxfbAu
— Julia (@austinelvisfeyd) February 27, 2023
And we also got an awesome Parks and Recreation reunion with Amy Poehler and Adam Scott (who was nominated for the excellent Severance).
"Please welcome Amy Poehler and Adam Scott..."🥺 My heart exploded at this! 😭#SAGAwards @mradamscott @amypoehler @parksandrec #Severance pic.twitter.com/fNzAJWzyCv
— Doc_Buttons (@doc_buttons) February 27, 2023
Fellow co-star Plaza also joined in on the fun.
aubrey plaza, amy poehler, adam scott. perfect reunion. no notes #SAGAwards pic.twitter.com/MmoVk0arS5
— Nora Dominick (@noradominick) February 27, 2023
You can find the full list of winners here. And the lowdown on the fashion in The New York Times, including Zendaya’s amazing pink, rose dress and Austin Butler’s very cool burgundy tux.
The Academy Awards take place on March 12. You can bet that Everything Everywhere All at Once will be a big frontrunner.