Three Latinos Win SAG Awards

Actors Ariana DeBose, Eugenio Derbez and Cristo Fernandez took home the first Screen Actors Guild Awards of their careers at the 28th annual edition of the coveted honor.

DeBose recived the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her role in West Side Story. The honor adds to more than a dozen awards, including a Golden Globe, that the proud Afro-Latina has won for playing Anita in the reimagined version of the musical film by Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg.

“It’s taken a long time for me to feel comfortable calling myself an actor,” said DeBose, before talking about her background in musical theater. “I really do believe that when you recognize one of us, you recognize all of us.” She said her Anita took a decade to make and that she was proud of the character and expressed gratitude to Spielberg for believing in her talent and her colleague actors. In thanking the musical’s cast and crew, she called WSS a “labor of love” and “beautiful cinematic experience.”

DeBose is also an Academy Award nominee for the same role this year.

For their part, Mexican actors Derbez and Fernandez won their awards as part of ensemble casts the former for a film, the latter for a TV series. It is notable that both actors played characters with Spanish surnames that defy Latino stereotypes.

Derbez received his prize for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for his role in the indie film CODA. The feature centers on a young woman who is the only hearing person in her deaf family who is torn between going away to college to study music and staying with her deaf parents. The Mexico City-born actor plays Bernardo Villalobos, the music teacher of the central character. The Derbez shared the honor with Daniel Durant, Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin and Ferdia Walsh-Peelo.

“We’re smiling from ear to ear: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture,” tweeted Derbez, adding the hashtags #sagawards and #CODAFilm. He concluded with, “My CODA Family!!!”

Fernandez earned his honor for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for his role in the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso. The series follows American college football coach Ted Lasso, who heads to London to manage AFC Richmond, a struggling English Premier League soccer team. Guadalajara-born Fernandez plays Dani Rojas, a striker for AFC Richmond. Incidentally, the actor once wanted to be a professional soccer player.

“Ay ay ay ay ay Dios mío, ganamos, we won, thank you to everyone watching and supporting us,” tweeted in Spanglish Fernandez, adding the handles @TedLasso @SAGawards @sagaftra @sagaftraFOUND.

Fernandez shared the prize with Annette Badland, Kola Bokinni, Phil Dunster, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Toheeb Jimoh, Nick Mohammed, Sarah Niles, Jason Sudeikis, Jeremy Swift, Juno Temple and Hannah Waddingham.

This is the second award Fernandez has won for Ted Lasso. Last year the series also won best ensemble at the Pena de Prata Awards in Portugal. His role also earned him an Imagen Award nom in 2021.

Other actors honored with individual awards were Will Smith, Jessica Chastain and Troy Kotsur for performances in motion pictures, and Michael Keaton, Kate Winslet, Lee Jung-Jae, Jung Ho-Yeon, Jean Smart and Ted Lasso’s Sudeikis for performances in television. The award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series went to HBO’s Succession.

The stunt ensemble from the James Bond sequel film No Time to Die was honored for motion picture and the stunt ensemble from South Korea’s Squid Game was honored for television.

Actresses Winslet and Cate Blanchett presented the legendary thespian Helen Mirren with the 57th Life Achievement Award.