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| Some of the cast members of 'Crazy Rich Asians.' |
LEADING UP to the Oscars in February, the Screen Actor's Guild awards later today, Sunday, Jan. 27, with a host of Asian American thespians among the nominees.
If the results of the Golden Globes and Critics Choice awards are any indication, Sandra Oh and Darren Criss will most likely walk away with trophies.
Oh is nominated as Best Actress in a Drama Series for her work in BBC America's detective thriller, Killing Eve, a category she captured for the Golden Globes and Critics Choice awards. Criss won those plaudits, along with an Emmy, for his portrayal of serial killer Andrew Cunanan in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace that was shown on the FX network.
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| Darren Criss and Sandra Oh. |
If the Crazy Rich Asians cast wins the SAG award, it would have to be a upset considering the heavyweight competition in that category.
CRA faces stiff competition from the ensemble casts of BlacKkKlansman, Black Panther, Bohemian Rhapsody and A Star Is Born. Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther are the only nominated ensembles that didn’t receive an individual acting bid, which could end up hurting their chances.
What might help the CRA actors is that unlike the Academy Awards, where none of the cast received any acting nominations, television actors vote for their favorites. Except for international star Michelle Yeoh, most of the CRA cast are more familiar for their work on the small screen. Constance Wu (Fresh Off the Boat), Gemma Chan (Humans), and Ken Jeong (Community, Dr. Ken), Harry Shum, Jr (Glee, Shadowhunters) are or have been television regulars. Even the legendary Yeoh has quickly gained a following for her recent work in Star Trek: Discovery.
In addition, the cast already picked up a notable win at the Critics’ Choice Awards for the Best Comedy Film but CRA's actors lost to the cast of The Favourite, for best ensemble. Crazy Rich Asians also reaped nominations for Best Comedy/Musical Film and Best Comedy Actress for Wu at the Golden Globe Awards and Yeoh was nominated as Best Supporting Actress.
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| Crazy Rich Asians cast members celebrate at the Critics Choice awards. |
We also have to take into account the current climate in Hollywood that seems to be opening up opportunities for Asian American actors and Asian-centric projects that have been bolstered by the success of Crazy Rich Asians and follow-up acclaim and popularity for John Cho's work in the feature, Searching, and Lana Condor in the Netflix favorite, For All the Boys I've Ever Loved.
The Crazy Rich Asians cast is the first all-Asian cast to lead a Hollywood film in 25 years so an ensemble win would make a powerful statement to the motion picture and TV industry, especially since historically, actors of Asian descent have been under-appreciated or even overlooked entirely.
One other factor that may work in CRA's favor, aside from its cultural impact, the cast may benefit from being in a feel-good, crowd-pleasing movie that many people are in need of right now, given the current political climate in the country; it’s a movie that resonates with a wide range of people beyond Asian American movie-goers, one of the most loyal film audiences according to a recent Nielsen survey.
The Screen Actors Guild Awards airs live on Sunday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on TBS and TNT.
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