All the Ways the Show Made History – Plus, Funniest, Most Memorable Moments

At the same time, Michael Keaton, in accepting his win for Male Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series for “Dopesick” acknowledged that many have come to see actors honoring themselves as both “indulgent” and “self-serving.”

But he also expressed the importance of art as an avenue to affect change. Dedicating his win to both his sister and nephew, who he lost to addiction. “I am blessed to be able to do something that might improve someone’s life,” he shared. “I’m the most fortunate person.”

Talking about the losses of his nephew and sister, Keaton got emotional at the end, tearing up and even becoming unable to speak. And yet, his speech was also the one that perhaps gave the biggest laughs of the night — albeit unscripted or planned.

In what has to be every nominee’s nightmare, Keaton was actually caught indisposed upon winning his award, with presenter Salma Hayek looking around the room uncomfortably. Everyone knew he was there, so there was no, “I accept this award on his behalf.”

Instead, Hayek pleaded with him, saying that she has stage-fright. In a hilarious moment, Keaton came running into the room before literally rolling onto the stage and offering a bit of candor. “Thank you very much, sorry. Quick trip to the men’s room,” he joked. “It’s packed, by the way.”

While Keaton’s night was a whirlwind of emotions, the ceremony kicked off with a groundbreaking moment, which would become the first of many across the evening.

The very first award of the night was handed out to “CODA” star, and deaf actor, Troy Kotsur. With this, Kotsur became the first-ever deaf actor to win in an individual acting category.

In his acceptance speech, which was delivered with the aid of an ASL interpreter, Kotsur said that he feels like he’s “finally part of the family.” Talking to the press backstage, per Deadline, Kotsur said that his father had always called him a “risk-taker,” but it’s a badge he wears with honor.

“It just shows that dreams can come true,” he said. “You never know when, just to throw that out there. But [this shows the importance of] trusting your gut.”

The film would continue to break new ground for the SAG Awards as the night culminated in a huge win for its ensemble cast. It became the first film with a predominantly deaf cast to win that award.

In one of the night’s funnier moments, when Marlee Matlin went on stage for the film’s Ensemble win, she found herself standing behind the microphone. “I don’t need this,” she joked through sign before continuing to give her speech through an ASL interpreter.

Representing the cast, and the deaf community for decades in Hollywood, Matlin said, “It’s a night that I’ve been waiting for for 35 years. It has been time and this just validates, among those people who voted for us at SAG-AFTRA, they knew we are their peers, their equals.”

“We are all actors and this had to really give more opportunities for other actors out there, who or whatever they may be,” she continued.

“I have to thank Marlee and [writer-director] Sian [Heder] for fighting for getting authentic deaf actors to play real deaf characters and give them our real experiences,” added Daniel Durant. “I hope this changes opportunities for deaf people so they have more opportunity and things are better.”

While the Steven Spielberg film wasn’t nominated a whole lot on the evening, it nevertheless managed to push that envelope of representation forward with a big win for Ariana DeBose as Female Actor in a Supporting Role.

DeBose knocked down two doors, becoming the first openly gay woman to win an individual award, as well as the first Latina to win a film award from the Guild. On top of that, it was also her first SAG Award, period.

She was humbled to be surrounded by these peers, and extremely gracious in accepting such a monumental achievement. DeBose is also up for her first-ever Oscar, which made her the first openly gay woman nominated for an acting Oscar.

While she’s proud of the ground she is breaking, DeBose told reporters, per Variety that more importantly to her, “it’s indicative that I will not be the last. That’s the important part. Whatever firsts are attached to my name, they’re important to me, but I’m focused on the fact that if I’m the first of anything it means I will not be the last.”

Kate Winslet may have said it while introducing Dame Helen Mirren’s Life Achievement Award, but Jean Smart embodied it when she picked up her award for her work in “Hacks.” Winslet applauded the industry for changing norms in regards to continuing to cast women as the age. “We get better with age,” she quipped to uproarious applause.

Smart had already proven that, besting all of the younger women in her category to win Female Actor in a Comedy Series. At 70 years old, she became the oldest woman to ever take home this prize. It was her first SAG win and, ironically, the woman she replaced was Mirren herself, who was 68 when she won for “Phil Spector” in 2014.

“This has been such a joy, this late in the game it’s such a treat,” she said in her acceptance speech.

Like Keaton, Smart argued for the importance of her craft, joking that “nobody gets us actors.” She went on to argue, “What we do is valuable, we are the tribe’s storytellers since man crawled out the cave and sat around the fire together and it’s important.”

It was an absolutely huge night for “Squid Game,” the South Korean smash-hit series, with genuinely stunned reactions from its stars as they swept the solo acting categories. Already the first foreign-language TV show and Korean show nominated, the accolades just kept pouring in.

The series picked up the actor for Outstanding Action Performance as a Stunt Ensemble, and then came the wins for Lee Jung-jae as Male Actor and Jung Ho-yeon as Female Actor in a Drama Series. These were the first acting wins for a non-English series.

Both actors spoke through interpreters, stunned, excited and humbled to be receiving their first-ever SAG Awards, and breaking such important ground for foreign-language productions. They’ve said over and over that Americans should be watching the show with subtitles to get the full experience of their performances.

Clips from the Netflix series were show with those subtitles so there could be no doubt. Ultimately, “Squid Game” picked up three of the four nominations, losing out to “Succession” in the category of Ensemble in a Drama Series.

At Dame Helen Mirren’s age, she doesn’t like to think of SAG, she joked during her acceptance speech for Life Achievement. For her, it’s always about the acronym, “S-A-G.”

It was a night of groundbreaking firsts, punctuated with other memorable moments, like Michael Keaton’s dramatically late entrance, thanks to a crowded men’s room, followed by his emotional tribute of his win to his late nephew.

While a few of the winners talked briefly about Ukraine, Brian Cox went all in with a wild and free-flowing speech that addressed the ongoing tragedy unfolding there. He started it off with a “F*ck You” hat he made sure everyone could see and read.

Then, when taking it off, the hat knocked off his glasses and he saw his own written “F*ck” and upped the ante with a verbal “shit.” Like many on the night, he noted that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a comic before he became president, making him one of them assembled in that room.

He then talked about their fellows in Russia who are currently being oppressed, saying, “They are told under pain of high treason that they cannot say a word about Ukraine. And I think that is pretty awful, and I think we should all stand together for those people in Russia who don’t like what’s going on — the artists. I think we should join in celebrating them and hoping that they can actually make a shift. Because I believe they can.”

There were also moments of levity, like when the three hosts with the least to do (they showed up at the top and bottom of the show) bantered playfully during the opening “I am an actor” segment. “Hamilton” stars Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr. and Daveed Diggs reuniting on the stage should have been more exciting but it kind of went nowhere. No song?

Mirren had several moments of levity in her speech, like when she dropped jaws across the room when describing their chosen profession by saying, “Together we laugh, we weep, we worry, we change clothes, we throw up and we suffer diarrhea.”

She also offered some advice for career longevity, and why she thinks she might have somehow earned this award, aside from qualifying by still being alive. “Be on time and don’t be an ass[hole].”

Without his regular sidekick, Martin Short had to supply most of the jokes himself when presenting with “Only Murders in the Building” co-star Selena Gomez. Clearly used to his over-the-top shenanigans, she joked at one point, “Always leave them wanting less.”

When they first came out, he shared that he was so excited to be at the “Shag Awards, for the best in adult films,” admitting, though, that he “was surprised to see Meryl Streep.”

And finally, 25 years after Romy and Michelle went to their high school reunion, Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino reunited on the SAG Awards stage, in their character’s signature colors. Sorvino even brought Post-It notes to keep track of the nominees.

It was a nostalgia blast from that past that delighted the audience as both slipped easily into their characters from the 1997 cult comedy classic.

“Do you think that this is the cutest anyone has ever looked at an awards show?” Kudrow asked her on-screen bestie, who had a stunningly brilliant revelation to share: “I just realized this, we’re wearing great ensembles while at the same time presenting to great ensembles.”

Genius!