“Sinners,” a vampire movie that unfolds in the segregated South, triumphed at the 2026 Actor Awards on Sunday night, winning the top prize for best ensemble in a motion picture while its star Michael B. Jordan was named best lead actor.
“The Studio,” a sendup of many of the powerbrokers in the show’s audience, won a leading three awards, including best ensemble in a comedy series. “The Pitt,” a gritty medical drama, was close behind with two awards, including best ensemble in a drama series.
The prizes, which were known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards until the name was changed last November, are handed out by the labor union, SAG-AFTRA, and honor the best performances on both the big and small screens.
On the film front, Jessie Buckley was named best lead actress for playing a grief-stricken mother in “Hamnet,” while Jordan was recognized for his turn as bootlegging twins in “Sinners.”
“Just being in this room right now with all these people who saw me grow up in front of the camera…I feel the love and support that you’ve always given me and encouraged me to go on and do my best,” a clearly stunned Jordan said.
Ryan Coogler, the director of “Sinners,” made history, becoming the first director to helm two best ensemble winners in the history of the Actor Awards. He previously won the top prize with 2018’s “Black Panther.” The Actor Awards are seen as an important precursor to the Oscars, which will take place on March 15. “Sinners,” which has a record-breaking 16 nominations, is locked in a tight race with “One Battle After Another,” which won big at the Directors Guild Awards and the Producers Guild Awards
Supporting actor prizes went to two villainous performances, with Sean Penn winning for playing a demented soldier in “One Battle After Another” and Amy Madigan honored for portraying a literal witch in “Weapons.”
“Actors love other actors — they just love being with them,” Madigan said about a prize handed out by her fellow entertainers.
Seth Rogen, the co-creator of “The Studio,” earned the prize of lead actor in a comedy series for playing a hapless movie chief. His co-star Catherine O’Hara, who died in January at age 71, was a posthumous winner for lead actress. Rogen accepted her prize and reflected on O’Hara’s habit of offering suggestions that enhanced her character and “The Studio.”
“I’ve just been marveling over the last few weeks [at] her ability to be generous and kind and gracious, while never ever minimizing her own talents and her own ability to contribute to the work that we were doing,” Rogen said. “She knew she could destroy, and she wanted to destroy every day on set.”
In an upset, Keri Russell, who plays a wily ambassador in “The Diplomat,” was named best lead actress in a drama series over “Pluribus’s” Rhea Seehorn. Noah Wyle, who has previously nabbed an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance as an emergency room doctor in “The Pitt,” added a statue for lead actor in a drama series to his trophy case.
Michelle Williams won best actress in a limited series for playing a woman with terminal cancer in “Dying for Sex.” Owen Cooper, the 16-year-old star of “Adolescence,” beat out his co-star Stephen Graham in the best actor in a limited series category.
Harrison Ford, the star of blockbuster franchises like “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones,” won the Lifetime Achievement Award. “I’m in a room of actors many of whom are here because they’ve been nominated to receive a prize for their amazing work, while I’m here to receive a prize for being alive,” Ford, who fought back tears at various points in his speech, said.
But the night wasn’t entirely celebratory. The Actor Awards were held as the U.S. and Israel are engaged in war with Iran. “Our thoughts are with all those whose lives are in danger overseas right now, and I think if there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that we wish for peace and we mourn those whose lives have been lost,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, executive director of SAG-AFTRA, told the audience shortly before the ceremony kicked off.
Kristen Bell hosted the awards show for the second year in a row on Netflix. The streamer made headlines this week after it bowed out from a heated bidding war with Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, the company behind “The Pitt” and “Sinners.” Paramount, which won a single prize at the Actor Awards for the latest “Mission: Impossible’s” stunts, has a deal to buy the media conglomerate for $110 billion.
See the full list of winners below.
Cast Ensemble in a Motion Picture
- “Frankenstein” (Netflix)
- “Hamnet” (Focus Features)
- “Marty Supreme” (A24)
- “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
- “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) (WINNER)
Male Actor in a Leading Role
- Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme” (A24)
- Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
- Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics)
- Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) (WINNER)
- Jesse Plemons, “Bugonia” (Focus Features)
Female Actor in a Leading Role
- Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet” (Focus Features) (WINNER)
- Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (A24)
- Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue” (Focus Features)
- Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
- Emma Stone, “Bugonia” (Focus Features)
Male Actor in a Supporting Role
- Miles Caton, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
- Benicio Del Toro, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
- Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein” (Netflix)
- Paul Mescal, “Hamnet” (Focus Features)
- Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) (WINNER)
Female Actor in a Supporting Role
- Odessa A’zion, “Marty Supreme” (A24)
- Ariana Grande, “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures)
- Amy Madigan, “Weapons” (Warner Bros.) (WINNER)
- Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
- Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
- “F1” (Apple Original Films/Warner Bros.)
- “Frankenstein” (Netflix)
- “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” (Paramount Pictures) (WINNER)
- “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
- “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
TV Categories
Cast Ensemble in a Drama Series
- “The Diplomat” (Netflix)
- “Landman” (Paramount+)
- “The Pitt” (HBO Max) (WINNER)
- “Severance” (Apple TV)
- “The White Lotus” (HBO Max)
Cast Ensemble in a Comedy Series
- “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
- “The Bear” (FX)
- “Hacks” (HBO Max)
- “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
- “The Studio” (Apple TV) (WINNER)
Male Actor in a Drama Series
- Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise” (Hulu)
- Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show” (Apple TV)
- Walton Goggins, “The White Lotus” (HBO Max)
- Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses” (Apple TV)
- Noah Wyle, “The Pitt” (HBO Max) (WINNER)
Female Actor in a Drama Series
- Britt Lower, “Severance” (Apple TV)
- Parker Posey, “The White Lotus” (HBO Max)
- Keri Russell, “The Diplomat” (Netflix) (WINNER)
- Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus” (Apple TV)
- Aimee Lou Wood, “The White Lotus” (HBO Max)
Male Actor in a Comedy Series
- Ike Barinholtz, “The Studio” (Apple TV)
- Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This” (Netflix)
- Ted Danson, “A Man on the Inside” (Netflix)
- Seth Rogen, “The Studio” (Apple TV) (WINNER)
- Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
Female Actor in a Comedy Series
- Kathryn Hahn, “The Studio” (Apple TV)
- Catherine O’Hara, “The Studio” (Apple TV) (WINNER)
- Jenna Ortega, “Wednesday” (Netflix)
- Jean Smart, “Hacks” (HBO Max)
- Kristen Wiig, “Palm Royale” (Apple TV)
Male Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series
- Jason Bateman, “Black Rabbit” (Netflix)
- Owen Cooper, “Adolescence” (Netflix) (WINNER)
- Stephen Graham, “Adolescence” (Netflix)
- Charlie Hunnam, “Monster: The Ed Gein Story” (Netflix)
- Matthew Rhys, “The Beast in Me” (Netflix)
Female Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series
- Claire Danes, “The Beast in Me” (Netflix)
- Erin Doherty, “Adolescence” (Netflix)
- Sarah Snook, “All Her Fault” (Peacock)
- Christine Tremarco, “Adolescence” (Netflix)
- Michelle Williams, “Dying for Sex” (FX) (WINNER)
Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
- “Stranger Things” (Netflix)
- “Andor” (Disney+)
- “Landman” (Paramount+)
- “The Last of Us” (HBO Max) (WINNER)
- “Squid Game” (Netflix)
