AAPI casts of 'The Pitt' and 'Sinners' are a win for diversity at Actors Awards

The Pinay power trio on for  'The Pitt' earned Actors Awards for (from left):
Kristin Villanueava, Isa Briones and Amielynn Abellera

Look, we’ve spent years seeing Asians on TV and movies as either the "tech support" or the silent background extra, but at the 32nd Annual Actor Awards on March 1, the cast of the TV drama The Pitt and the Sinners movie officially flipped the script. 

While Asian actors did not win the top four individual acting awards this year at what used to be called the SAG-AFTRA Awards, they were vital to the night's biggest ensemble wins

The night’s biggest headline for the AAPI community was undoubtedly the historic ensemble win for The Pitt, which finally put Filipino American and South Asian actors at the center of the frame.

The medical drama didn't just win; it took home the trophy for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series, proving that when you actually cast us, we deliver. 

For the Filipino community, this wasn't just another award — it was a long-overdue "salute and recognition". In a field where Filipino nurses have been the literal backbone of American healthcare for decades, seeing the Filipino American actors  accept those awardds voted on by their peers felt like a win for every tita and tito in scrubs. 

The power of Filipino representation

Perhaps the most significant achievement of The Pitt is its unapologetic spotlight on the Filipino community. In the real world, Filipino nurses and doctors are the lifeblood of American hospitals, yet they are historically sidelined in TV scripts. With the goal of reflecting real life,The Pitt changes the narrative with a powerful trio:

• Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones): A high-achieving Filipino American resident who navigates the intense pressures of the hospital with a competitive edge that feels earned and real.

• Nurse Perlah Alawi (Amielynn Abellera): A Filipino Muslim nurse whose presence brings a vital, often-ignored intersection of identity to the forefront.

• Nurse Princess Dela Cruz (Kristin Villanueva): Representing the heart of the ER, she embodies the dedication and empathy that Filipino healthcare workers are known for globally.

For decades, Filipino characters were the "background" of medical shows. Seeing three distinct Filipino characters—each with their own faith, personality, and professional standing—is a radical act of visibility. It acknowledges the historical legacy of Filipino labor in US healthcare that dates back over a century.

But The Pitt's representation didn’t end there. The ensemble win also spotlighted a deep bench of South Asian talent that is finally moving past the "nerdy sidekick" trope:

Supriya Ganesh (Dr. Samira Mohan): An American actress of Indian origin who brought nuance to the role of a workaholic resident. She’s been vocal about how South Asian women in medicine finally feel "seen" through her character.

Shabana Azeez (Victoria Javadi): The Australian-born actress plays a med-school prodigy struggling to live up to her surgeon parents’ legacy. Her presence—alongside Ganesh—shatters the "there can only be one" rule that has limited South Asian actors for years.

This wasn't just a win for a show; it was a win for a cast that looks like the actual world we live in. When they all stood on that stage together, it wasn't about diversity as a "checklist"—it was about a family of actors who earned their trophies.

The Pitt wasn't the only ensemble earning the Actors Award. The Studio won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

The Chinese-American actress Chase Sui Wonders took home a trophy as part of the winning ensemble for Apple’s hit comedy. The rest of the cast included Seth Rogen, Kathryn Hahn and Ike Barinholtz,.

'Sinners' cast wins

While the TV wins were a "salute" to the medical community, the film categories proved that AAPI actors were part of the Best Cast in a Motion Picture for the motion picture Sinners, including:

Hailee Steinfeld: The Oscar nominee (who is of Filipino descent) added an Actor Award to her mantle as part of the powerhouse ensemble for Ryan Coogler's vampire drama.

Li Jun Li: The Chinese American actress was a key part of the winning cast, further cementing her status as a top-tier ensemble player.

View from the edge

With these wins coming on the heels of the wild success of Everything, Everywhere All At Once in 2022, Shogun in 2024 (with a second season in the works), and current streaming hits Butterfly with Daniel Dae Kim, Ballard with Maggie Q and The Copenhagen Test with Simu Liu is an indication Hollywood is coming to realize that real diversity and inclusion of a diverse cast doesn't mean token characters here and there but a reflection of the changing demographics of real life fand signifies a major shift in visible representation and the mainstreaming of diverse narratives in Hollywood.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

Screen Actors Guild gives 'Minari' more love

Steven Yeun earned an acting nomination by the Screen Actors Guild.

Based on their selections, actors have a better sense of what goes into a Hollywood motion picture than foreign journalists.

In contrast to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Screen Actors Guild picked actors in films that more diverse, including Minari, the movie about an Korean American immigrant family's adjusting to living in the United States.

SAG members nominated Minari's cast for Best Ensemble, Steven Yeun for Best Actor and Youn Yuh-jung for Best Supporting Actor. The HFPA didn't name any of Minari's cast for acting awards, relegating the film to a Best Foreign Language Film nomination.

SAG also recognized the work of Riz Ahmed in The Sound of Metal.

Frances McDormand was nominated for her performance in Nomadland, which was directed by Chloe Zhao. The movie's cast failed to get nominated.

In contrast to the Golden Globes where the HFPA picked films with white casts, SAG's picks included more diversity it its casts, including Regina King’s One Night in Miami; the August Wilson adaptation Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, Aaron Sorkin’s 1960s courtroom drama The Trial of the Chicago 7 besides the aforementioned Minari, directed by Lee Isaac Chung.

The nominations bode well for Minari. SAG has the most members in the Academy and have a heavy influence on the Oscars.In the last three years, SAG's cast choices went on to win Best Picture in the Academy Awards.

SAG Awards: A great night for Darren Criss and Sandra Oh

SCREEN CAPTURE

Darren Criss accepts The Actor statuette at the SAG awards.

By winning the Screen Actors Guild statuette Sunday (Jan. 27), Darren Criss completed a  sweep of this year's major acting awards.

Criss won the Best Actor in A Limited Series offered by SAG, the union of his acting peers, Sunday (Jan. 27).

"I find it appropriate that this statuette is sort of choosing between which masks to use, and the character that I played, Andrew Cunanan, unfortunately, used masks to destroy things,” the Filipino American actor said in his acceptance speech. “So as an actor, my goal is to hopefully create something positive, to use masks to create a positive change." 

With the statue of The Actor in his possession, Criss becomes the first Filipino American to win any of the acting honors that includes the 2018 Emmy, Golden Globe, and Critics’ Choice Award for his groundbreaking performance as serial killer Andrew Cunanan in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. Best known for his light-hearted ole in Glee, Criss took full advantage of playing against type to portray the dark, deranged psychopath who killed five people before taking his own life.

"So for all of the friends and families that are still affected by the destruction that he wrought, I hope that they know our goal was not to make a spectacle of their tragedy, but to create a positive dialogue about social issues and bring to justice things that were in the shadows.”

SCREEN CAPTURE

Sandra Oh thanks the actors who gave her words of eencouragement.

Sandra Oh was awarded The Actor for her role in Killing Eve in the Best Actress in A Drama Series, repeating the honors she received at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice. This was her fourth SAG win and sixth nomination.

She made a point in thanking three African American actors for their words of encouragement during her career.

“I want to thank Alfre Woodard,” Oh said in her acceptance speech. “In 1997 -she’s never going to remember this, she whispers in my ear – I’m so proud of you up there. We fight the same fight.’ Jamie Foxx in 2006 pulled me aside and said, ‘Keep going.’ And in 2017, Lena Waithe, she just embraced me and said, ‘You already won. It’s in the work’ So thank you to my fellow actors. Thank you so much.”

Backstage, Oh was asked to opine on diversity in Hollywood. “Are we there yet? Of course not. But it’s always good to have something to aspire to and move towards, for us to see ourselves is a deeply human need and I’m here to do my best to fulfill that.”

The actors of Crazy Rich Asians was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, a prize that went to Black Panther, another film that like CRA disproved Hollywood's belief that films with nonwhite themes and casts could not be successful.

SCREEN CAPTURE 

Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Ken Jeong and Constance Wu introduced a clip from 'Crazy Rich Asians.'

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SAG awards: Olivia Munn represents; No AAPI winners; Ansari stays away

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Olivia Munn and Niecy Nash had a hilarious intro to awarding SAG's best actor in a drama series.

ASAM NEWS

ASIAN/AMERICANS were shut out at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, but the fastest growing ethnicity in the country did have one shining moment.
Olivia Munn, whose mother is Chinese, stole the show when she made a cutting reference to the lack of Asian/American nominees while presenting the award for best actor in a drama series with Niecy Nash.

Munn was about to announce the winner when she was interrupted by Nash.

“Wait, wait, wait. If it’s Sterling K. Brown, can I say it?” Nash interrupted.

Munn looking a little puzzled, asked why.

“Cuz he’s Black. I mean, but you can say anybody’s name who is Asian that’s nominated.”

“I think its just White guys and Sterling K Brown, but I’ll take one of the White guys,” said Munn.

Turns out Brown did win and, true to her word, Munn allowed Nash to announce the winner.

Of course, both Nash and Munn knew there were no Asian Americans nominated in that category.

Aziz Ansari was nominated for outstanding actor in a comedy series for his role in Netflix's Master of None. He chose to stay away following the fallout from accusations he sexually violated a date who said she made it clear to Ansari she did not want sex. Ansari has since apologized saying he misread his date’s cues. 

When Ansari's name was announced as one of the nominees, there was a notable lack of applause. The Indian/American comedian did not win, losing to William Macy of Shameless.

Hong Chau of Downsizing also did not win. The award went to Allison Janey of I, Tonya in the category of outstanding actress in a supporting role. Chau also loss to Janey in the same category earlier this year at the Golden Globes.

The cast of the motion picture The Big Sick, which starred Pakistani/American Kumail Nanjiani, was shut out. Instead Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri won for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture.

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.

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