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 "The Trial of the Chicago 7,"
set during a Vietnam War protest in 1968, took
the prize for best ensemble with a cast that
includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne,
Frank Langella and Mark Rylance.
Langella credited writer and director Aaron
Sorkin for the win, saying his "voice is the
soul of this movie."
All four of the winning film actors were people
of color, the first time this has happened in
the SAG awards' 27-history.
Chadwick Boseman, who died of cancer last year
at age 43, picked up another award for his final
role as an ambitious 1930s trumpet player in "Ma
Rainey's Black Bottom." Sunday's SAG win
positioned him as front-runner for his first
Oscar at the Academy Awards on April 25.
Accepting on Boseman's behalf, his widow Simone
Ledward Boseman cited a saying from the late
actor himself. "If you see the world unbalanced,
be a crusader that pushes heavily on the see-saw
of the mind."
Viola Davis won best actress for playing a jazz
diva in "Ma Rainey," besting presumed favorites
Frances McDormand for "Nomadland" and Carey
Mulligan in revenge drama "Promising Young
Woman."
The SAG awards, chosen by members of the acting
union, are closely watched because actors form
the largest voting group in the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which
organizes the Oscars.
The win for "The Trial of the Chicago 7" boosted
the film's chances of winning the best picture
Academy Award in a year that has seen modern
recession-era movie "Nomadland" grab many of the
pre-Oscar awards.
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 Because of the coronavirus
pandemic, this year's SAG ceremony was scaled
down from a gala dinner to a one-hour
presentation, held remotely, and peppered with
jokes about how actors filled their free time
during lockdown or got a start in their careers.
Helen Mirren spoke of a close encounter with a
bear during the pandemic, Sterling K. Brown
demonstrated his juggling skills and Jimmy
Fallon played the harmonica.
"Minari," the Korean-language story of an
immigrant family struggling to make it in 1980s
Arkansas, brought a supporting actress award for
South Korean veteran Youn Yuh-jung as a
cantankerous grandmother.
"I am very pleased and happy," said Youn, 73.
British actor Daniel Kaluuya won for his
supporting role as the late Black Panther
activist Fred Hampton in "Judas and the Black
Messiah."
The SAG awards also recognize television
performers, with the casts of "Schitt's Creek"
and "The Crown" taking the top prizes for comedy
and drama respectively.
Many of the SAG winners and nominees are also up
for honors at the British BAFTA awards next
week, and the Independent Spirit awards on April
22.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Jonathan
Oatis)
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