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Chadwick Boseman Makes US Screen Actors Guild History With Four Nominations

By Michael Bamidele

05 February 2021   |   10:43 am

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Late American actor Chadwick Boseman earned four Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards nominations on Thursday, thereby making the "Black Panther" star the first person ever to receive four nominations in a single year in the film categories. The SAG, Hollywood's acting union, nominated Boseman for his lead role as an ambitious young horn player in…

Chadwick Boseman (centre) plays Leeves in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” | Image: Netflix

Late American actor Chadwick Boseman earned four Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards nominations on Thursday, thereby making the “Black Panther” star the first person ever to receive four nominations in a single year in the film categories.

The SAG, Hollywood’s acting union, nominated Boseman for his lead role as an ambitious young horn player in 1920s blues drama “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” and his supporting role as a Vietnam War soldier in Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods.” Both films also scored nominations for best cast, the top prize at the SAG ceremony.

Although less high-profile than the Golden Globes nominations a day earlier, the SAG awards are seen as a stronger indicator of Oscars glory, since actors represent the largest branch of the roughly 10,000 Oscar voters in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, AFP reported.

Only two actors have ever posthumously won Oscars, Peter Finch for 1976’s “Network,” and Heath Ledger for 2008’s “The Dark Knight.”

Boseman died at age 43 in August last year from colon cancer, a diagnosis he never publicly discussed.

Boseman’s co-star Viola Davis also earned a lead actress nod for “Ma Rainey,” putting it in a tie atop the SAG film acting nominations with Korean-American drama “Minari.”

“Minari,” which follows the story of an immigrant family that moved to 1980s rural Arkansas to scrape together a new life, is hoping to emulate “Parasite”, which won last year’s SAG best cast prize before ultimately being named the Oscars best picture.

Former “Walking Dead” favourite Steven Yeun and veteran South Korean star Youn Yuh-jung were both recognized for the film, along with the ensemble cast.

Rounding out the prestigious best cast category were a pair of 1960s-set civil rights movies: “One Night in Miami” and courtroom drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”

Netflix again dominated the film nominations with 13, while rival streamer Amazon followed with four.

“Da 5 Bloods” and “Chicago 7” landed stunt nominations Thursday, alongside Disney’s “Mulan,” Tom Hanks-starring western “News of the World,” and superhero movie “Wonder Woman 1984.”

On the television side, “The Crown” and “Schitt’s Creek” followed a strong showing at the Globes by topping the SAG nominations with five apiece. The SAGs nominated several TV shows overlooked by the Globes, including Netflix mega-hit “Bridgerton” and acclaimed British drama “I May Destroy You.”

The nominations were announced on Instagram Live by Daveed Diggs, who earned a television acting nod for the Disney+ version of Broadway hit “Hamilton”, and Lily Collins (“Emily in Paris”).

The 27th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were twice postponed, first by the pandemic and later by a clash with music’s Grammys. They will now take place on April 4, followed by the Oscars on April 25.