SAG Awards strengthen Brie Larson, Leonardo DiCaprio but makes Oscar race more exciting

The Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 30 made it look like actors wanted to prove to the Oscars and to the outside world that Hollywood is filled with some diversity. You just have to know where to look.

However, most of that diversity was on the television side. Queen Latifah, Idris Elba, Viola Davis and Uzo Aduba all won awards for their work on television. It continued to prove that television is - at least in front of the screen - a place where diversity thrives.

On the film side, Elba won Best Supporting Actor for Beasts of No Nation and will likely be the only individual winner not to repeat at the Oscars. As we all know by now, Elba was not nominated for an Oscar. Instead, Creed’s Sylvester Stallone is the heavy favorite, especially after Christian Bale (The big Short) and Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) both lost at the SAG Awards.

Alicia Vikander of The Danish Girl has a strong chance to win Best Supporting Actress, especially since most of her field is the same one at the Oscars. (SAG-AFTRA nominated Trumbo’s Helen Mirren instead of The Hateful Eight’s Jennifer Jason Leigh.)

Brie Larson of Room and The Revenant’s Leonardo DiCaprio both solidified their Oscar standings. Both of them won the Golden Globe as well.

Lastly, Tom McCarthy’s Spotlight picked up Best Ensemble Cast. Now, this is a very different award from the Best Picture Oscar, but this is a great pick-up for a film that had been struggling to keep its momentum going into the awards season. It looked like a strong candidate to win the Oscar, but key wins by The Revenant, The Big Short and Mad Max: Fury Road made it look shaky.

It still looks like The Big Short is the film to beat for Best Picture, especially after it won the Producers Guild Award. Of course, it’s still a four-way race. By this time last year, we were all certain that Boyhood or Birdman would win, but this year’s race has been far more exciting.