Written by Tom Deehan on Jan 30, 2017. Posted in General Interest

Stranger Things and Denzel Washington score surprise wins at the 2017 SAG awards

Netflix’s homage to 1980’s science-fiction, Stranger Things, was this year’s surprise TV winner at the 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards, taking home the accolade for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. The new series brought an end to Downton Abbey’s two year winning streak at SAG.

Despite being set in Indiana, Stranger Things was shot entirely in the state of Georgia. Sounds stages were used at Screen Gems Studios in Atlanta, while Bellwood Quarry, Butts County Courthouse and Patrick Henry High School were filmed on location.

After his success at the 2017 Golden Globes, pundits expected Casey Affleck’s winning streak to continue for his role in Manchester by the Sea. Despite these expectations, it was Denzel Washington’s performance in Fences that won over SAG voters, securing him the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role award.

Filming exclusively in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Fences was able to take advantage of the state’s 25% tax credit incentive. Productions must spend at least 60% of their total budget within Pennsylvania to access the scheme.

It was the Georgia-shot Hidden Figures however that became the final underdog of the night, scoring the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Based on the non-fiction book of the same name, the film depicts the true story of a group of African American women who worked as mathematicians for NASA in the 1960s.

Full list of winners:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Denzel Washington, Fences (WINNER)
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Emma Stone, La La Land (WINNER)
Amy Adams, Arrival
Emily Blunt, The Girl on the Train
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight (WINNER)
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Viola Davis, Fences (WINNER)
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Hidden Figures (WINNER)
Captain Fantastic
Fences
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Bryan Cranston, All the Way (WINNER)
Riz Ahmed, The Night Of
Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O.J. Simpson
John Turturro, The Night Of
Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O.J. Simpson

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Sarah Paulson, The People v. O.J. Simpson (WINNER)
Bryce Dallas Howard, Black Mirror
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill
Kerry Washington, Confirmation

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
John Lithgow, The Crown (WINNER)
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Claire Foy, The Crown (WINNER)
Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things
Thandie Newton, Westworld
Winona Ryder, Stranger Things
Robin Wright, House of Cards

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
William H. Macy, Shameless (WINNER)
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (WINNER)
Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
Jane Fonda, Grace and Frankie
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Stranger Things (WINNER)
The Crown
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Westworld

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Orange is the New Black (WINNER)
The Big Bang Theory
Black-ish
Modern Family
Veep

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series
Game of Thrones (WINNER)
Marvel’s Daredevil
Marvel’s Luke Cage
The Walking Dead
Westworld

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Hacksaw Ridge (WINNER)
Captain America: Civil War
Doctor Strange
Jason Bourne
Nocturnal Animals