SAG-AFTRA presented its coveted Actor® statuettes for the outstanding motion picture and primetime television performances of 2014 at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® in ceremonies attended by film and television’s leading actors, held 25 January, at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Centre.
Honoured with individual awards were Patricia Arquette, Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne and J.K. Simmons for performances in motion pictures and Uzo Aduba, Viola Davis, William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Mark Ruffalo and Kevin Spacey for performances in television. The Screen Actors Guild Awards originated awards for the outstanding performances by a motion picture cast and by television drama and comedy ensembles. The Actor® for a motion picture cast performance went this year to Birdman, while the Actors® for television drama and comedy ensemble performances went this year to Downton Abbey and Orange is the New Black. Of the top industry honours presented to actors, only the SAG Awards are selected entirely by 111,228 performers’ peers in SAG-AFTRA. The SAG Awards was the first televised awards show to acknowledge the work of union members.
Prior to the televised ceremony, honourees for outstanding television and film stunt ensemble action performances were announced from the red carpet during the SAG Awards Red Carpet Pre-show, hosted by PEOPLE Magazine’s JD Heyman and TNT correspondent Danielle Demski.
Carrie Fisher presented her mother Debbie Reynolds with the union’s highest honour, the 51st Annual Life Achievement Award, following a filmed salute. Liev Schreiber introduced a filmed “In Memoriam” tribute to the members lost in the past year. In keeping with the SAG Awards tradition of highlighting the work of SAG-AFTRA members, a film montage recalled some of the groundbreaking performances that mirrored vital issues facing society.
PEOPLE magazine and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) hosted the Screen Actors Guild Post-Awards Gala for the 19th year. This exclusive event, immediately following the SAG Awards on the back lot of the Shrine Exposition Centre, honours the philanthropic causes and good works of the members of SAG-AFTRA. The gala benefits the SAG Foundation.
The 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA with Screen Actors Guild Awards®, LLC was produced by Avalon Harbor Productions.
