Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG Awards)

The Screen Actors Guild Awards, also known as the SAG Awards, have been given by Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) since 1995. The SAG Awards were established to recognize outstanding performances in both film and primetime television.

SAG-AFTRA is an American labor union that represents about 160,000 film and television actors, voiceover artists, announcers, broadcaster journalists, program hosts, puppeteers, stunt performers, DJs, dancers, news writers, news editors, singers, recording artists and other professionals. It was founded in 2012 following the merger of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild.

The SAG Awards were established in 1995. Unlike some other industry awards which focus on either film or television, they honor outstanding performances in both film and television. They can be awarded to film actors, television actors, entire casts/ensembles, and stunt ensembles.

Nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Awards are submitted by two committees. One committee is responsible for film and the other for television. Each committee comprises 2100 members of SAG-AFTRA who are randomly selected each year. As soon as the nominations are announced, each full member of the Guild can cast their vote. The success at the SAG Awards is regarded as an indicator of success at the Oscars.

The SAG Award statuette is called “The Actor”. It portrays a nude male figure which holds a mask of comedy in one hand and a mask of tragedy in the other. The statuette is cast in solid bronze, it is 41 cm tall and weights over 5 kg.

The inaugural SAG Awards ceremony was held on February 25, 1995 at Universal Studios, Los Angeles, California. The first winners included Tom Hanks, Jodie Foster, Martin Landau, Dianne Wiest, Raúl Juliá (posthumously), Joanne Woodward, Dennis Franz, Kathy Baker, Jason Alexander, Helen Hunt, the cast of NYPD Blue, the cast of Seinfeld.

As of 2016, actors and actresses with the most overall wins include Alec Baldwin (8 awards, including 1 ensemble award), Julianna Margulies (8 awards, including 4 ensemble awards), Anthony Edwards (6 awards, including 4 ensemble awards), Allison Janney (6 awards, including 4 ensemble awards), and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (6 awards, including 3 ensemble awards).