"This is what we talk about when we talk about diversity. Different race, color, creed, sexual orientation," said Laura Prepon of the television show Orange Is The New Black as she motioned to her fellow cast members who won the ensemble prize Saturday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Diversity was the running theme of the night, from the producers of the show and from the remarks of the actors.
Diversity has become the topic of much conversation in the entertainment industry following the announcement of the Oscar nominations that for a second year straight failed to go to any people of color.
But the SAG Awards include television shows and movies, while the Oscar categories are focused only on films.
Idris Elba won two awards Saturday, one for supporting actor in the Netflix film Beasts of No Nation and his lead performance in the BBC miniseries Luther.
"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to diverse TV," Elba said on his third trip to the stage as a presenter.
In Addison to Elba, Queen Latifah won an award for her portrayal of blues singer Bessie Smith on HBO, Viola Davis won for her work on the ABC-TV show How to Get Away with Murder and actress Uzo Aduba won for Orange Is The New Black.
The newspaper drama Spotlight won the best picture prize.
Leonardo DiCaprio took home the best film actor award for his outdoor-adventure in The Revenant, while Brie Larson won the top actress prize for her role as a mother in Room.
Best supporting actress went to Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl. Her mother is an actress and Vikander said she watched her mother act. "I learned then and I know still that acting is not in a bubble, that magic only happens between acting companions."
Some material for this report came from AP and Reuters.
