'The Angry People' Steven Yeun Wins Best Actor at SAG Awards

Major US Awards Best Actor Sweep
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Korean-American actor Steven Yeun once again took home a trophy for the Netflix drama Seongnan Saramdeul (The Angry People). On the 25th (local time), at the 30th Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards held in Los Angeles (LA), USA, he was announced as the winner of the Outstanding Lead Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series category. With this, Steven Yeun swept all four major U.S. awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a TV Limited Series this year, following last month's Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Awards, and Critics' Choice Awards.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The SAG trophy holds special meaning for actors as it signifies recognition of acting skills by fellow Hollywood actors. On stage, Steven Yeun credited his acting coach. "Every time I said, 'You don't understand. This seems very Korean,' he told me, 'No, this is something we all go through,'" he said. "That meant a lot to me."

Allie Wong, who starred alongside Steven Yeun in Seongnan Saramdeul, also won the Outstanding Lead Actress award in the same category that day. Seongnan Saramdeul is a black comedy drama depicting the conflict that arises when Danny (Steven Yeun), a poor man with no visible future, and Amy (Allie Wong), a wealthy woman estranged from her husband and living a depressing daily life, get into an argument while driving. Released on Netflix in April last year, it ranked in the top 10 for viewing hours for five consecutive weeks and achieved global success. It was praised for compellingly portraying the uncontrollable anger of modern people. Thanks to this, it won eight Emmy Awards (including Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Actor and Actress, Directing, Writing, Casting, Costume Design, and Editing), three Golden Globe Awards (including Best Drama Series and Lead Actor and Actress), and four Critics' Choice Awards (including Best Drama Series, Lead Actor and Actress, and Supporting Actress).

The SAG Awards are broadly divided into film, TV, and stunt categories. In the TV category, awards are given separately for drama series and comedy series, with an 'Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble' award equivalent to Best Picture. However, this award is not assigned to the limited series category. Structurally, Seongnan Saramdeul could not receive an ensemble award, but by winning all the lead actor awards in this category, it was recognized as the best work in this category this year.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

In the film category, Oppenheimer won three awards, including Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble, Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), and Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.). Continuing the momentum from Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture and Directing, Critics' Choice Awards for Best Picture and Directing, and the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award for Directing, it is expected to perform well at the Academy Awards ceremony scheduled for the 10th of next month.

Lily Gladstone of Flower Killing Moon became the first Native American actor to win the Best Actress award in the film category. The Best Supporting Actress award went to Thevine Joy Randolph for Barton Academy. Singer and actor Barbra Streisand received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Meanwhile, a tribute video reflecting on the works of Hollywood actors shown at the ceremony included the late Lee Seon-gyun, drawing attention. He had previously won an ensemble award with other actors at the 2020 SAG Awards for director Bong Joon-ho's Parasite.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.