Deaf family drama “CODA” takes top honours at SAG Awards, Will Smith wins

In an upset, the deaf family drama “CODA” has taken top honours at an unpredictable and history-making 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards that also saw wins for the leads of “Squid Game," the cast of “Ted Lasso” and Will Smith.

The ceremony, held on Sunday at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, was notably border-breaking, with historic wins for deaf actors, Korean stars and some of Hollywood's biggest names. 

It culminated with “CODA," Sian Heder's heartwarming Apple TV+ coming-of-age film featuring a trio of deaf actors in Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur and Daniel Durant, along with newcomer Emilia Jones, winning best ensemble.

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Matlin is the only deaf actor to win an Oscar, but her “CODA" co-star, Kotsur, may be in line to join her. Kotsur won best supporting actor Sunday, becoming the first deaf actor win an individual SAG award.

Netflix's “Squid Game,” the first non-English language series nominated by the actors guild, came on strong with three awards, including Lee Jung-jae for best male actor in a drama series and Jung Hoyeon for best female actor in a drama series. 

Cox voices support for Ukraine

Those wins came over the likes of “Succession” stars Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong, and Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston of “The Morning Show.”

HBO's "Succession” ultimately reigned in the best drama series category. 

In the evening's bluntest remarks on the invasion, Cox noted that the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was a comic — and thus a fellow performer. 

He urged censored dissenters in Russia to speak out against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

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