With the Academy Awards right around the corner, the time for SAG-AFTRA to announce and reward some of the best performances of the year has finally arrived, inevitably adding coal to the fire that is the race for Oscar glory.
The cast and crew of Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer' have been no strangers to standing on stage and giving speeches of late as the biopic epic has swept at various awards ceremonies this season.
It turns out that the case would be no different at this years annual Screen Actors Guild awards, with the film winning three of the 4 categories it was nominated in on the evening.
'Oppenheimer's first win of the night came through the form of Robert Downey Jr. in Best Supporting Actor. Much like the film, Downey Jr. has been a consistent award winner for his performance as Lewis Strauss in 'Oppenheimer' and looks to be a certain lock for when the Academy Awards come around.
The actor, primarily known for playing Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, now has a Golden Globe, BAFTA, Critics Choice and SAG award to his name for his work in 'Oppenheimer'. If anyone else were to take home the Oscar on March 10th, it would come as quite the surprise.
Emily Blunt went home empty handed in the Best Supporting Actress category, losing out to Da'Vine Joy Randolph for her performance as Mary in Alexander Payne's 'The Holdovers'. Much like Downey Jr., Randolph has been a consistent performer throughout this year's awards season and is the most likely candidate to take home the Oscar.
The most dramatic and table-turning moment of the night occurred when Lily Gladstone won the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in Martin Scorsese's 'Killers Of The Flower Moon'. The odds seemed to be in favour of Emma Stone winning the award, undoubtedly confirming her second Oscar in the space of 7 years, but it seems that Gladstone had something to say about that as her win makes the Best Actress race a lot more interesting.
The final solo award of the night went to Cillian Murphy for his performance as the titular role in 'Oppenheimer'. If there was to be any opportunity for Paul Giamatti to redeem his chances of winning the Oscar for his role in 'The Holdovers', it had to be on this occasion.
Murphy's win at the SAG Awards for 'Oppenheimer' means the Irish actor now has a BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG to his name, making him the most likely candidate to take home the Academy Award by a country mile.
To round off the night and the 'Oppenheimer' domination, the film took home the award for Best Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture, beating out the likes of 'American Fiction', 'Killers of the Flower Moon', 'The Color Purple' and Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie'.
Last year's winner of this award, 'Everything Everywhere All At Once', went on to win the Best Picture award at the Oscars. Will this be the case for Christopher Nolan's blockbuster biopic?