The Golden Globes aren’t the only game in town when it comes to the Oscar race that dabbles in television awards. Distributed by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards looks to recognize outstanding performances in both film and television and often carry special significance to winners, seeing as it is an honor bestowed upon them by their peers.

The 2020 Screen Actors Guild Award nominees were announced on Wednesday, December 11. The 26th Annual SAG Awards ceremony was held this past Sunday, January 19 in Los Angeles, California. Some of the nominees for best picture included Joker, Marriage Story, Parasite, and more. Out of all the nominees, Parasite took home Best Picture. Sophomore, Emily Hamm, said she was surprised by the win because she assumed that Joker would take home the prize.

“I was shocked because I thought for sure that Joker was going to win Best Picture. Joker was so incredible, raw, and emotional so I thought that they were the ones who would take home a big win. I’m glad that Parasite won but I still would’ve liked to see Joker won. At least Joaquin Phoenix won Best Male Actor,” said Hamm.

Other celebrities took home big wins including Renee Zellweger for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, Sam Rockwell for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries, and many were surprised by Jennifer Aniston winning for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. Sophomore, Ishi Jacinto, said she was incredibly happy when Aniston won for her role in the Apple TV original series, The Morning Show.

“I was so excited for Jennifer Aniston. I know and love her from Friends so seeing her succeed in other things like TV shows or movies, it really warms my heart and I’m so proud of her and I am very honored to be a fan of hers. Also I thought her dress was really pretty and simple and her new series The Morning Show is really good,” said Jacinto.

Besides the awards themselves, the ceremony also involves dinner while the award show is going on. Much like what happened at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, this year the SAG Awards followed in their footsteps and went plant-based to help prevent climate change and to support veganism as a whole. Senior, Katelyn Murphy, said she thought this was a bold and brave decision for the SAG-AFTRA to make.

“Going plant-based is a big move. For the SAG-AFTRA to make that decision was really wise. Most of the award shows this year have already gone vegan with their menus to make a statement and going vegan is the easiest way to help prevent climate change. I personally thought it was a good decision,” said Murphy.

Every year the SAG-AFTRA decide on who the next Lifetime Achievement Award honoree will be. This special award is given to an actor who shows the “finest ideals of the acting profession.” This year happens to be Robert De Niro. De Niro added this new award to his collection of two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award which is also presented at the Golden Globes. Daniel Akinola, sophomore, says he has been a fan of De Niro for a long time and thought this award was well deserved.

“I thought it was great that the SAG-AFTRA decided to give Robert De Niro this award. He has been in the acting industry for over around fifty years and he’s an incredible actor in my opinion. I like how he is in his seventies and he’s still doing what he loves to do and is still amazing at what he does. His acceptance speech was pretty good, I like how he planned it all out, and he was super chill he was on stage which is so him. I’m overall glad he got that recognition,” said Akinola.

The 2020 SAG Awards were quite the success for a lot of actors and proud fans. Many of these fans are excited for their favorite actors’ new year and can’t wait to see what they do next. Now it’s on to the Academy Awards.