The 2026 Actor Awards, formerly recognized as the Screen Actors Guild Awards, recently unveiled its comprehensive list of nominees across both film and television categories. Hosted by Janelle James and Connor Storie, these awards are a crucial barometer for the upcoming Academy Awards, often providing significant momentum for actors and films vying for Oscar nominations and ultimate victories. With an eligibility period spanning performances released between January 1 and December 31, 2025, the nominations set the stage for one of Hollywood's most anticipated awards seasons.

This year’s nominations, however, were not without their share of surprising snubs, particularly as the Oscar race intensifies. Among the most notable omissions were Cynthia Erivo for her acclaimed role in “Wicked: For Good,” and Wagner Moura for “The Secret Agent.” Erivo's exclusion marks her second major miss for the film, following a shutout at the Critics Choice Awards, despite previous Oscar and SAG nods for her performance as Elphaba. While her co-star, Ariana Grande, did secure a nomination in the supporting actress race for “Wicked: For Good,” Erivo’s path to an Oscar nomination now appears less certain. Similarly, Wagner Moura, a Cannes best actor winner and widely considered an Oscar frontrunner for “The Secret Agent,” was notably absent from the Actor Awards list. Despite this, Moura maintains a strong position for the Oscars, having received nominations from the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards, and a win from the New York Film Critics Circle, underscoring the more domestically-focused nature of the SAG-AFTRA voting body compared to the international Academy.

Further surprising snubs included Dwayne Johnson for “The Smashing Machine,” and Adam Sandler for “Jay Kelly,” which marked Sandler’s first major awards miss of the season after securing nominations at both the Globes and Critics Choice Awards. The film’s leading man, George Clooney, and its entire star-studded cast also failed to secure nominations in the main ensemble category. The cast of “Sentimental Value,” featuring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard, Elle Fanning, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, was entirely shut out. Perhaps the most shocking omission was the complete absence of all foreign-language movies and performances from the 2026 races.

On the film side, the prestigious Cast Ensemble in a Motion Picture category features “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “One Battle After Another,” and “Sinners.” Leading Actor nominations include Timothee Chalamet for “Marty Supreme,” Leonardo DiCaprio for “One Battle After Another,” Ethan Hawke for “Blue Moon,” Michael B. Jordan for “Sinners,” and Jesse Plemons for “Bugonia.” For Female Actor in a Leading Role, nominees are Jessie Buckley for “Hamnet,” Rose Byrne for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Kate Hudson for “Song Sung Blue,” Chase Infiniti for “One Battle After Another,” and Emma Stone for “Bugonia.” Supporting Actor nominees include Miles Caton for “Sinners,” Benicio Del Toro for “One Battle After Another,” Jacob Elordi for “Frankenstein,” Paul Mescal for “Hamnet,” and Sean Penn for “One Battle After Another.” In the Supporting Actress category, Odessa A’Zion for “Marty Supreme,” Ariana Grande for “Wicked: For Good,” Amy Madigan for “Weapons,” Wunmi Mosaku for “Sinners,” and Teyana Taylor for “One Battle After Another” received nods. Stunt Ensemble nominations went to “F1,” “Frankenstein,” “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” “One Battle After Another,” and “Sinners.”

In television, Cast Ensemble in a Drama Series nominees are “The Diplomat,” “Landman,” “The Pitt,” “Severance,” and “The White Lotus.” Comedy Series ensemble nominations include “Abbott Elementary,” “The Bear,” “Hacks,” “Only Murders in the Building,” and “The Studio.” Individual acting nods in drama series went to Sterling K. Brown for “Paradise,” Billy Crudup for “The Morning Show,” Walton Goggins for “The White Lotus,” Gary Oldman for “Slow Horses,” and Noah Wyle for “The Pitt.” Female actors in a drama series nominated are Britt Lower for “Severance,” Parker Posey for “The White Lotus,” Keri Russell for “The Diplomat,” Rhea Seehorn for “Pluribus,” and Aimee Lou Wood for “White Lotus.” For Male Actor in a Comedy Series, nominees are Ike Barinholtz for “The Studio,” Adam Brody for “Nobody Wants This,” Ted Danson for “A Man on the Inside,” Seth Rogen for “The Studio,” and Martin Short for “Only Murders in the Building.” Female Actor in a Comedy Series nominees are Kathryn Hahn for “The Studio,” Catherine O’Hara for “The Studio,” Jenna Ortega for “Wednesday,” Jean Smart for “Hacks,” and Kristen Wiig for “Palm Royale.”

Further television nominations include Male Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series: Jason Bateman for “Black Rabbit,” Owen Cooper for “Adolescence,” Stephen Graham for “Adolescence,” Charlie Hunnam for “Monster: The Ed Gein Story,” and Matthew Rhys for “The Beast in Me.” Female Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series nominees are Claire Danes for “The Beast in Me,” Erin Doherty for “Adolescence,” Sarah Snook for “All Her Fault,” Christine Tremarco for “Adolescence,” and Michelle Williams for “Dying for Sex.” Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series recognized “Andor,” “Landman,” “The Last of Us,” “Squid Game,” and “Stranger Things.” Notably, while “The Last of Us” secured a stunt ensemble nomination, its actors and main cast were overlooked. Similarly, Sterling K. Brown earned an individual acting nomination for “Paradise,” but the show’s ensemble was not recognized. Adam Brody of “Nobody Wants This” received a nod, contrasting with the snub of his co-star Kristen Bell and the cast. “The Bear” secured a comedy ensemble nomination, but lead actor Jeremy Allen White was surprisingly omitted.

The Actor Awards hold significant weight as a predictor for the Oscars. Since the ensemble category's inception in 1995, only four films have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards without a SAG ensemble nomination. Moreover, since the Academy expanded the Best Picture field in 2009, 61 out of 80 films (a 76% success rate) nominated for SAG ensemble went on to receive Best Picture Oscar nominations, highlighting its reliability. The predictive strength also extends to individual acting categories, with an average of 16 out of 20 SAG film acting nominees (an 80% match rate) overlapping with Oscar nominations since 2009. The peak alignment occurred in 2009 with "The Hurt Locker" year, seeing 19 out of 20 SAG nominees also nominated for Oscars, while the lowest was 12 out of 20 in 2021, the year of "CODA."

Nominations for the Actor Awards are decided by committees of 2,000 members for film and another 2,000 for television. The winners, however, are determined by the largest voting organization in Hollywood: more than 122,000 SAG-AFTRA performers. For context, the entire Academy, which votes on the Oscars, comprises only 11,000 members. Final voting for the winners will run from January 14 through February 27 at noon PT. The 32nd annual Actor Awards ceremony, presented by SAG-AFTRA, is scheduled to air live on Netflix on March 1.