The Actors and the Oscars: Who Predicts Who?

On March 1, over 100 actors attended an award show in hopes of their own accomplishments—or their friends—being noticed and rewarded. The Actor Awards, previously known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards, is a 32-year-old show that honors actors and actresses across film and television.

The name change of the popular ceremony was a big topic of conversation this awards season.

SAG-AFTRA, the labor union that represents those in media, said the name change was a way to “provide clearer recognition in terms of what the show is about for our domestic and global audiences.” The union wanted to put the main focus on actors and actresses for the foreseeable future.

The results of the awards were both surprising, yet satisfying. For the television nominees, The Studio won the most that night, with three awards—including the best ensemble in a comedy series. The Pitt, a medical drama, followed close behind The Studio with two awards—including the best ensemble in a drama series. The Actor Awards even awarded its best lead actress in a comedy series posthumously to Catherine O’Hara, which turned into a tribute to her career, and left much of the audience teary-eyed.

Awards for best lead actor and best lead actress went out to Michael B. Jordan for Sinners (Sinners also won best ensemble in a motion picture) and Jessie Buckley for Hamnet.

Sean Penn was awarded best supporting actor for his performance in One Battle After Another. This film was predicted to win big, but that was their only award. However, Amy Madigan was awarded best supporting actress for her work in Weapons.

As mentioned before, One Battle After Another was thought to sweep the film categories at the Actor Awards. Instead, Sinners showed high promise and questioned the idea of who might win best actor and best picture at the Oscars. Sinners is seen as an underdog when compared to the others in the running, but that doesn't mean they might not triumph this coming weekend.

The Actor Awards are seen as an important precursor to the Oscars, which are happening on March 15th. They are voted on by around 160,000 members of the SAG-AFTRA union. The Oscars are voted on by around 11,000 members of the Academy, an organization made up of people from every sector of the industry. SAG-AFTRA has a good track record of predicting the Academy’s picks for the individual acting awards, so the Actor Awards are always looked to as a hint as to what’s to come at the Oscars.

Based on the insight gathered from the Actor Awards, some predictions can be made about what might happen on March 15. It seems that the two people who won best lead actor and actress at the Actor Awards, Michael B. Jordan and Jessie Buckley, are on track to win those awards at the Oscars. Their work in their respective films has captivated and enthralled viewers and made a strong case as to why they should win.

Who will win the supporting awards? That is a result that is a little harder to pin down.

The film Sinners has a record-breaking 16 nominations at this year’s Oscars. The film that they have been in competition with during this awards season, One Battle After Another, is right behind them with 13.

The two films’ competition is reflected in the nominees for best supporting actress. After the Actor Awards, there is a greater chance that Amy Madigan could be seen winning. Before this, the two actresses with the most promise were Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) and Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners). The top contenders for best supporting actor include two from One Battle After Another, Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro. Either could be seen taking home the trophy, but regardless of the outcome, One Battle After Another is projected to reap the reward.

No matter who ends up winning these coveted prizes, there is bound to be a strong sense of competition on Oscar weekend. If the Actor Awards have told us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected and to look out for the underdog. But we won’t have to wait much longer: all will be revealed very soon at the 98th annual Oscars ceremony on March 15.

Thoughts about who might win at the Oscars Awards? Opinions about who won at the Actors Awards? Leave a comment below.