LOS ANGELES – Stars answered the usual questions on the red carpet ahead of Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. Were you excited to be here? Yes. How did it feel to be recognized? Great. Which TV show would you like to guest star on? “The White Lotus.”
But one question we asked made almost everyone stop, think for a few seconds, and then give a thoughtful answer, often with a caveat or fulcrum in the middle:
“Should separate acting categories for men and women be eliminated at major awards shows?” we asked.
The ongoing debate over gender-neutral acting awards, which could also mean fewer nominations for everyone, is also part of the conversation this awards season. In 2021, separate male and female acting categories were abolished at the Gotham Awards, which honor independent films. Last year the Brit Awards, Britain’s equivalent of the Grammys, merged their Best Male and Best Female Artist of the Year categories into one gender-neutral grand prize. And this year, the event faced backlash because no women were nominated for the award. The Grammy Awards have had many gendered categories eliminated since the 2012 ceremony.
Non-binary actors like Emma Corrin, who are often forced to choose a category in which to be considered, have called for gender-neutral award categories. Trans nonbinary actor Justin David Sullivan of the Broadway musical & Juliet withdrew his name from consideration when the Tony Awards eligibility decisions were announced earlier this month, putting public pressure on the awards . (Both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards Oscars, and the Television Academy, which administers the Emmy Awards, research gender-neutral categories, according to The Los Angeles Times. Nominees can already request gender-neutral language about their awards at both events.)
The immediate reaction of many attendees at the SAG Awards was a desire for more inclusive awards.
“I think it’s a positive thing,” said Will Sharpe, who plays Ethan Spiller, the workaholic tech nerd who won TV’s highest award for a drama series in Season 2 of Sunday Night’s “The White Lotus.” , playing Ethan Spiller, who is married to Harper he believed it would “level the playing field.”
“Why not?” said Michael Imperioli, who plays female Hollywood producer Dominic Di Grasso in The White Lotus, about the combination of acting categories. “It’s all one big drama soup.”
Other nominees addressed the potential benefits for non-binary actors.
“There are people who don’t want to be defined by gender, and I want to help make awards more inclusive for them,” said Rhea Seehorn, the attorney on Better Call Saul, which was nominated for Outstanding Kim Wexler plays an ensemble cast in a drama series for the final season.
But then she stopped.
“At the same time,” she added, it’s not very fair to compare performances until women and non-binary performers are “allowed as much screen time as men.”
Top awards often go to the actors who spend the most time on screen, and a recent study found that in 2021, in the top 100 grossing films, male characters outnumbered female characters by almost two to one.
Jamie Lee Curtis, who donated the supporting actress statuette for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, over Golden Globe winner Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and BAFTA winner Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin ”), echoed Ms. Seehorn’s indecisiveness.
“I’m for inclusion, that’s the most important thing,” she said, “but at the same time I want to make sure that people have the greatest possible opportunities. I know that many people believe in same-sex parenting. There are a lot of young women who get really quiet when the boys get really loud.”
Female nominees in particular expressed concern that the idea of a single award gives men a distinct advantage as there are richer and more numerous roles available to them.
“There’s still a lot of male roles,” said Patricia Arquette, who plays Harmony Cobel, Mark’s domineering boss, in Severance, which was nominated for Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Drama Series. “I don’t know if that would be fair.”
“Until there’s a 50-50 possibility, we still have to have our own categories,” said Olivia Williams, who plays Camilla Parker Bowles on Season 5 of The Crown, which was also nominated for Best Ensemble Performance in a Drama Series .
Sarah Polley, the writer and director of the women-focused film Women Talking, which explores sexual assault in a religious community, said the potential for equality needs to be weighed against the realities of the film and television industry.
“What none of us want to see is a general acting category where it’s all-male nominees,” she said, “which I think is the scare — and that’s a real scare.”
But, she added, there are also important considerations to be weighed that go beyond fairness, to the point of basic identity.
“We have a non-binary actor in our cast,” she said, referring to August Winter, who plays Melvin, a character who lives as an openly trans man in a patriarchal society. “And there should have been a choice between husband and wife, neither of which was right.”
“I’m not sure what the solution is,” she added, “but it certainly can’t stay the way it is because it excludes people from recognition.”
Mx. Winter, who uses the pronouns sie and sie, said they support gender-neutral categories because they “honor the person making the art.”
“Right now, you have to make a choice,” they said, referring to awards that separate categories for men and women. “And I don’t think people should be put in that position.”
However, other nominees noted that they were concerned that combined categories would result in fewer achievements being recognized.
Ms Bassett said breaking up the categories could result in fewer chances of recognition. “I don’t like this,” she said. “Not enough opportunity.”
Jon Gries, who plays Greg Hunt, the scheming husband of Jennifer Coolidge’s character Tanya on The White Lotus, echoed those concerns. “When you have best actor, best actress, you have more awards,” he said. (“We like more accolades,” said Sabrina Impacciatore, who plays the show’s uptight hotel manager, as she sauntered up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.)
Sally Field, who was presented with a lifetime achievement award Sunday night for her nearly six-decade television and film career, expressed general frustration with the competitive nature of awards. “It’s difficult to compare actors, male or female, because the roles are so different,” she said. As such, the idea of a rule change that would recognize even fewer appearances was confusing to them.
“Why would you do that?” she said, looking like someone had just suggested she roll through the mud in her ball gown. “I mean, you can’t compare Cate Blanchett and Viola Davis anymore. They’re both incredible.”
Quick Question is a collection of stories from red carpets, gala dinners and other events that lure celebrities from their hiding places.
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