Sinners wins top prize at Actor Awards as Jessie Buckley proves unbeatable

Vampire film Sinners won the top prize at the Actor Awards, where Jessie Buckley continued to prove unbeatable on the path to the Oscars.

Ryan Coogler’s epic, set in 1930s Mississippi, was named best ensemble in a motion picture while Michael B Jordan, who plays twins, was named best male actor in a leading role.

Collecting his prize, he paid tribute to his co-stars, saying: “Everybody that had something to do with this movie, you gave us your time and your talents and vulnerability and allowed me to do my best work.”

The ensemble award, the biggest prize of the night, was collected by Delroy Lindo, who said: “This project is anointed and from that standpoint we are all anointed to be a part of this incredible journey created by the genius Ryan Coogler.

“We brought our hearts, we brought our souls, we brought our spirits, to be recognised by you all, thank you does not come anywhere near to encompassing how we feel, the gratitude we feel.

“From the bottom of our hearts to the bottom of your hearts, thank you so much for everything.”

The wins come just a week after Jordan and Lindo were standing on stage at the Bafta film awards when a racial slur was shouted by a member of the audience with Tourette’s.

Irish actress Buckley continued her winning streak through awards season, clinching the female actor in a leading role prize for Hamnet.

Accepting the gong, she said: “I have been categorically changed by so many people in this room and beyond.”

She paid tribute to her Hamnet co-star Emily Watson, saying: “I’d like to say a special thank you to my incredible friend and date tonight, Emily Watson.

“Breaking The Waves made me whisper to myself ‘That is what I want to do’. To share those scenes in Hamnet, I will cherish that for the rest of my life.

“Your wild imagination, your brave untethered womanhood and your ferocious gentleness is a guiding light to me.

“You’re the realest of the real.”

“I love and cherish being part of this community and I hope I can continue to offer something meaningful back.”

The Actor Awards were formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards and are voted for by members of the Sag-Aftra union.

The late Schitt’s Creek and Home Alone star Catherine O’Hara won the outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series prize for her role in the Apple TV+ hit The Studio.

O’Hara died on January 30 at the age of 71 from a pulmonary embolism, following a cancer diagnosis.

The award was collected by her co-star Seth Rogen, who is also a co-creator of the show, who said: “I’ve been reflecting on the time I was fortunate enough to spend with her and working with her and something I’ve been marvelling at is her ability to be generous and kind and gracious, while never minimising her own talent and her own ability to contribute to the work we were doing.”

He urged people to show O’Hara’s work to those who have not seen it and “tell the people that’s Catherine O’Hara, and we were lucky to live in a world where she so generously shared her talents with us”.

The Studio also won the ensemble in a comedy series award, while Rogen was named best male actor in a comedy series.

Adolescence star Owen Cooper was named best actor in a television movie or limited series, but was not present to collect his award.

Amy Madigan was named best female actor in a supporting role in a motion picture for Weapons at the Actor Awards.

Referring to her character, she said: “Gladys has surprised me, she’s getting a lot of love. I didn’t know you all wanted to hang out with her.”

She was momentarily distracted when she appraised the anatomy of her statuette as she said: “What does he have here? It’s like when you had a Barbie and a Ken and you whipped down his drawers and saw Ken has nothing.”

This remark drew laughter from the crowd, as she added: “As you can tell, I’m nervous and I’m overwhelmed.”

Sean Penn won the male actor in a supporting role in a motion picture prize for One Battle After Another but was also not present at the ceremony.

Michelle Williams won the prize for female actor in a television movie or limited series for Dying For Sex, defeating Erin Doherty for Adolescence.

The male actor in a drama series was won by Noah Wyle for The Pitt, while the medical drama also won the best ensemble in a drama series prize.

The first award of the night went to Keri Russell, who was named best female actor in a drama series for The Diplomat.

Speaking on stage, she made reference to her husband Matthew Rhys, saying: “Happy St David’s Day to my Welsh guy.”

The name change for the 32nd annual awards ceremony was revealed during the broadcast announcing the nominations earlier this year.