Three projects worked on by School of the Arts alumni featured performances that were celebrated at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards. This year marked the 28th anniversary of the annual SAG Awards, which honors outstanding motion picture and television performances.
Jean Smart was awarded the honor of Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series. Smart plays Deborah Vance in the HBO/HBO Max series Hacks, which explores a dark mentorship that forms between Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comedian, and an entitled, outcast 25-year-old. Alumna Lucia Aniello '04 (CC) co-created Hacks alongside her husband and frequent creative collaborator, Paul W. Downs. Aniello also served as a producer, writer, and director on the series.
The incredible cast behind HBO’s Succession collectively won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Succession centers on the Roy family, the dysfunctional owners of Waystar RoyCo, a global media and entertainment conglomerate. The family members are fighting for control of the company amid uncertainty about the health of the family's patriarch, Logan Roy.
Alumna and former Adjunct Assistant Professor Shari Springer Berman '95 has directed two episodes of the series: “Lion in the Meadow” (2021) and “Safe Room” (2019). Writing Alumnus Brysen Boyd ’20 also served as a writing fellow for the show’s third and most recent season.
Will Smith took home the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for his work in King Richard. King Richard, which also received numerous Academy Award Nominations, offers a look at how tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams became who they are after being coached by their father, Richard Williams. Alumnus Robert Walker Jeffrey '18 is featured in King Richard as a reporter from Florida.
You can read the full list of 2022 SAG Award Winners here.
