In the major acting categories at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, the betting favorites in the Oscars all won their respective categories, with Renee Zellweger, Joaquin Phoenix, Laura Dern, and Bratt Pitt each taking home an Actor.
The SAG winners are typically a precursor to the Oscars. As expected, both Renee Zellweger (“Judy”) and Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”) won in the main acting categories. Zellweger won for her portrayal of Judy Garland, while Phoenix played the Clown Prince of Crime.
2020 SAG Award Winners
Renee Zellweger (Best Actress)
Joaquin Phoenix (Best Actor)
Laura Dern (Best Supporting Actress)
Brad Pitt (Best Supporting Actor)
Brad Pitt (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) won for Male Actor in a Supporting Role, edging out a stellar field that included Tom Hanks, Joe Pesci, Jamie Fox, and Al Pacino. Pitt joked that he was going to add his SAG win to his Tinder profile. Pitt’s ex-wife, Jennifer Anniston, won for Best Actress in a Series, and the two were photographed backstage, which seemed to make a bigger splash in the tabloids than Pitt securing his first SAG victory.
Laura Dern (“Marriage Story”) won the SAG Award for Best Supporting Role over Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, and Margot Robbie. Both Dern and Pitt are favorites to win Oscars in February.
SAG Moving Oscars Market
Heading into the SAG Awards, both Zellweger and Phoenix were already heavy favorites to win the Oscar. After they both won a SAG award, their numbers jumped once again. You have to lay a lot of money to win back a little. Phoenix went from 1/10 to 1/12, according to William Hill. Meanwhile, Zellweger went from 1/5 to 1/20 odds.
Batman’s nemesis, the Joker, has become one of those iconic roles over the last two decades, with some of Hollywood’s biggest heavyweights taking a shot at the role. Jack Nicholson’s Joker is a high-water mark that all future Jokers will be judged against. However, nothing can beat the darkness behind Heath Ledger’s Joker in “The Dark Knight.” Phoenix’s distraught standup comic with deep emotional issues comes close to Ledger’s performance, and is well deserving of recognition. In his SAG acceptance speech, Phoenix thanked Ledger.
Best Actor Odds (Updated 1/21/20)
Joaquin Phoenix 1/12
Adam Driver 10/1
Antonio Banderas 33/1
Leonardo DiCaprio 40/1
Jonathan Pryce 50/1Best Actress Odds (Updated 1/21/20)
Renee Zellweger 1/20
Scarlett Johansson 9/1
Cynthia Erivo 20/1
Saoirse Ronan 25/1
Charlize Theron 33/1
If you’d like a to see an upset at the Oscars, then this presents you with an opportunity to get a better number on your dark horse or underdog.
Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson both delivered stunning performances in “Marriage Story,” and they were both nominated in their respective leading categories. If there’s anyone who can pull off the upset over Phoenix’s portrayal of the Joker, it’s Driver. Driver was 8/1 before the SAG Awards, and now you can get him at 10/1 odds.
If any actress has a legitimate shot to edge out Zellweger as Judy Garland, it’s Johansson. She dropped from 6/1 to 9/1 odds after the SAG Awards.
Other SAG Winners: Dragons and Parasite
Peter Dinklage won a SAG Award for Male Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Tyrion Lannister. The final season of “Game of Thrones” might have been a disaster for fans, but Dinklage crushed every scene he appeared in during the final episodes of the fantasy series based on the books by George R.R. Martin. After five previous nominations, he won on his sixth try.
In the category for best Cast in a Motion Picture, the Korean actors from “Parasite” took home the SAG Award. They edged out “Bombshell,” “The Irishman,” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” for the coveted group award. “Parasite†became the first foreign language film with an ensemble win. Bong Joon-ho’s film is the favorite to win Best International Film at the Oscars.
