Idris Elba has won two awards at
the Screen Actors Guild in Los Angeles, including being named as best actor for
a miniseries for his portrayal of a hard-bitten London detective in the BBC
crime series, Luther.
Elba, who was one of a number
of black performers honoured in the awards, also picked up the award for best
supporting actor in Cary Fukunaga’s child soldier drama Beasts of No Nation for
his portrayal of a commander in charge of young rebels in Ghana.
The recognition of black performers
by the Guild came with the row still rumbling over the lack of diversity in
the Oscar nominations.
The British actor who became known to millions of
viewers worldwide after his portrayal of “Stringer Bell” in The Wire carefully
sidestepped the Oscar controversy.
“I want to tell you man, we made a film about real
people and real lives and to be awarded for that is very special because a lot
of people were damaged from that,” Elba told his audience in his acceptance speech.
“To be awarded for it is very special, because a
lot of people were damaged through that. So thank you for giving this film some
respect and love.”
However other winners were less reticent to point
out the contrast between the two sets of awards.
Laura Pepron, who was accepting the
ensemble award for the prison television series, Orange is the New Black,
pointed to the cast behind her.
“Look at this stage,” said Pepron at Los Angeles’
Shrine Auditorium. “This is what we talk about when we talk about diversity;
different race, colour, creed, sexual orientation.”
Queen Latifah took the award for the outstanding
performance by an actress in a television miniseries or film for her portrayal
of the blues singer, Bessie Smith.
Uzo Aduba was named best comedy actress for her
portrayal of Crazy Eyes, an eccentric inmate in Orange is the New Black.
Alicia Vikander was named best
supporting actress for her performance as the wife of Lili Elbe, the
transgender artist in The Danish Girl, portrayed
by Eddie Redmayne.
There was further British success with the cast of
Downton Abbey taking the award for best television drama ensemble.
Joanne Froggatt, who played Anna Bates in Downton
Abbey, said she was delighted with the cast’s best ensemble in a drama series
award.
She said: “It’s incredible to be part of something
that has been so successful and we all feel incredibly fortunate to be part of
it. It’s been one of the biggest TV shows to come out of England in many years.
It’s something we will always be attached to and very proud of.”
Her co-star Allen Leech added: “It has been the
most amazing six years so thank you for watching and taking these characters to
your hearts.”
Kevin Spacey picked up his second
guild award after being named best actor in a TV drama series for his
performance as Frank Underwood in House
of Cards, the Netflix series based on an the original British
political thriller written by Michael Dobbs.
Leonardo DiCaprio was named best film
actor for The Revenant, an
award which puts him in a strong position to win the Oscars next month.
Spotlight, a newspaper drama based on the Boston
Globe’s investigation of paedophile priests, took the award for best film cast.
Michael Keaton, one of the stars of the film said
he had considered becoming a journalist, adding that Spotlight highlighted the
importance of investigative reporting, citing the recent scandal of
contaminated drinking water in Flint, Michigan.
“As long as there’s no one to represent not just
those, but the disenfranchised everywhere – I mention it because there are a
zillion Flint, Michigans out there. Had there been a spotlight put on that, I
would argue that maybe they would have been a little bit ahead of the
situation.”
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