Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1531556
61 SAG-AFTRA SPECIAL ISSUE 2025 / sagaf tra.org 3 1 S T A N N UA L S C R E E N AC T O R S G U I L D AWA R D S ® Awards not just a celebration of talent, but a poignant reminder of the industry's role in reflecting and shaping society. One such artist was Lily Gladstone, who won for their extraordinary performance in Killers of the Flower Moon. Their win, representative of multiple intersectionalities, was historic and inspiring. Gladstone spoke not only of their own personal experience, but of the collective journey of all actors who often find themselves grappling with the uncertainties of their craft. They also highlighted the importance of solidarity and emphasized the value of every voice. After a year marked by significant struggles within the entertainment industry, Gladstone reminded everyone that at the heart of storytelling is community, empathy and connection. Lily, I see you, I honor you and I thank you. "My friends, fellow actors, I feel the good in what you have done, what you do. This has been a hard year for all of us, those in this room, those not in this room [and] I'm so proud that we've gotten here in solidarity with all of our other unions. It's truly a gift that we get to do this for a living. That's the win. It's getting to be here. It's getting to be on set. It's getting to tell stories. "We bring empathy into a world that so much needs it. It's so easy to distance ourselves, it's so easy to close off, to stop feeling, and we all bravely keep feeling and that humanizes people, that brings people out of the shadows, it brings visibility. Keep telling stories to everybody in this room, to everyone watching abroad, to those who are not actors but have a voice, have a story that needs to be heard. Thank you for all of the compassionate souls in this room and all of the storytellers here tonight. Keep speaking your truths, keep speaking up for each other," Gladstone said. Elizabeth McLaughlin SAG Awards Committee Member Acceptance speeches at the Screen Actors Guild Awards can have it all: humor, wit, a call to arms for causes close to the actor's heart, and always a wide breadth of gratitude for the honor by their peers. The speeches I remember are the ones that felt like the actor reached out through the television to speak to me and that their words were the message I needed to hear — a reminder to keep going. Jessica Chastain's speech after her win for The Eyes of Tammy Faye did just that: "I've wanted to be [an] actor my whole life, and ever since I was a kid it was the only thing I really ever thought about, and there were years of studying and auditioning and not getting jobs. And I know what that feels like, and I know the loneliness of what that feels like. And so for those of you who are struggling and feeling unseen, I just want you to know to keep going because you're one job away, I promise. And the thing that really kept me going was you. It was everyone in this room, and it was this community. And I love my artistic family." The saying from the late American poet Maya Angelou goes, "They may not remember what you said, but they'll always remember how you made them feel." Speeches like this make me feel a part of this community, feel seen by this community, and feel the same hope I did when I was a kid with big dreams watching the SAG Awards on her living room floor all those years ago. And the beautiful thing? In that moment, there is a whole community of actors sharing the same feeling: inspiration and drive towards that one job away. PHOTOS: STEWART COOK/SHUT TERSTOCK; ANTHONY HARVEY/SHUT TERSTOCK