‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘Sinners’ Lead Hollywood’s Actor Award Nominees

The action-packed political satire One Battle After Another and the blues-infused vampire drama Sinners emerged as the top contenders for Hollywood’s Actor Awards, leading this year’s nominations announced on Wednesday.

Formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Actor Awards are closely watched as a key indicator of which films may gain momentum ahead of the Academy Awards, set to be presented in March. The winners are chosen by members of SAG-AFTRA, the largest voting body within the Oscars.

Both One Battle After Another and Sinners earned nominations for best movie cast, the ceremony’s top film honour. They will compete against the Shakespeare-inspired drama Hamnet, the ping-pong-themed film Marty Supreme, and the Gothic science fiction reimagining Frankenstein.

Among the notable acting nominations, Leonardo DiCaprio was recognised for his performance as Bob in One Battle After Another, while Michael B. Jordan earned a nod for his dual role as twin brothers Smoke and Stack Moore in Sinners. Jessie Buckley was also nominated for her portrayal of Agnes Hathaway in Hamnet.

Television categories saw strong competition, with dark comedy series The White Lotus facing off against medical drama The Pitt and psychological thriller Severance. In the comedy category, The Bear will compete with The Studio, Abbott Elementary, and Hacks. Emmy-winning limited series Adolescence also secured multiple nominations.

The ceremony, which was officially renamed the Actor Awards in January 2025, will stream live on Netflix on March 1, when the winners are announced.

Last year, organisers cancelled a planned live announcement of nominees due to wildfires in Los Angeles, opting instead for an online reveal. Reflecting on that tragedy, SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin addressed the impact of the fires before this year’s nominations were announced.

“I want to acknowledge that this is the one-year anniversary of devastating Los Angeles wildfires,” Astin said.