With the Oscar race starting to heat up, it was a key night for one film and four actors as they all celebrated success at last night’s Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony.

Despite strong competition from the likes of The Irishman and Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood, the Korean satire Parasite pulled off a surprise victory in the Best Ensemble category.

Directed by Bong Joon-Ho, the black comedy centres on a poverty-stricken family who begin to infiltrate the lives of a wealthy household which leads to disastrous consequences.

This win came at a crucial time for Parasite ahead of the Oscars with the war-thriller 1917 set to be its biggest competition for the Best Picture prize following that film’s triumph at the PGA (Producer Guild Awards) on Saturday.

In contrast, the acting races are beginning to look sewn up as the predicted quartet of Joaquin Phoenix, Renée Zellweger, Brad Pitt and Laura Dern all bagged key wins in their respective categories.

In Best Actor, Phoenix moved himself a step closer towards his first Oscar win for his performance as the mentally-troubled comedian Arthur Fleck in Joker ahead of Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood), Adam Driver (Marriage Story) and British duo Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari) and Taron Egerton (Rocketman). During his speech, he acknowledged the work of his fellow nominees before dedicating the award to former Joker actor Heath Ledger.

For her portrayal of legendary performer Judy Garland in Judy, Zellweger is on track to land her second golden statue after clinching Best Actress ahead of the likes of Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story) and Charlize Theron (Bombshell).

The supporting actor / actress gongs were comfortably won by frontrunners Brad Pitt for his role as veteran stuntman Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood and Laura Dern for her performance as divorce attorney Nora Fanshaw in Marriage Story. In his acceptance speech, Pitt poked fun at director Quentin Tarantino over his foot fetish while offering to post a picture of his award on Tinder.

The Best Stunt Ensemble award was presented to the Marvel epic Avengers: Endgame while two-time Oscar-winning legend Robert De Niro received the Life Achievement gong for his excellent work in film over the past six decades.

The full list of SAG (film) winners are below:

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
PARASITE

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Joaquin Phoenix, JOKER

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Renée Zellweger, JUDY

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Brad Pitt, ONCE UPON A TIME IN…HOLLYWOOD

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Laura Dern, MARRIAGE STORY

OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
AVENGERS: ENDGAME

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On the small-screen side of things, there was plenty to savour for The Crown and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as both series triumphed in the drama / comedy categories.

The third series of Netflix’s The Crown overcame stern competition from Big Little Lies and the final season of Game of Thrones to win Best Ensemble (Drama). However, stars Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter missed out on the Best Actress (drama) gong which went to Jennifer Aniston for her performance as news anchor Alex Levy in Apple TV’s hit series The Morning Show.

Despite missing out on the top honour, Game of Thrones still walked away with two awards with one being for Best Stunt Ensemble. The other accolade went to Peter Dinklage as he clinched Best Actor (drama) for his iconic role as Tyrion Lannister. His competition in that category including Sterling K. Brown (This is Us) and Morning Show duo Steve Carrell and Billy Crudrup.

In the comedy lineup, Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel surprisingly won Best Ensemble (Comedy) ahead of the much fancied BBC sitcom Fleabag. Maisel star Tony Shalhoub picked up his second successive Best Actor (Comedy) win at SAG for his performance as Abe Weissman, the father of female comedian Midge Maisel.

Though Fleabag missed out on the top gong, creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge deservedly landed Best Actress for her role as the long-suffering cafe worker looking for love. Phoebe’s win completes a dominant awards season for her having also prevailed at the Emmys last year and the Golden Globes earlier this month.

Finally in the Limited Actor/Actress categories, there was double success for stars Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams as the pair won for their portrayals of former husband-and-wife team Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon in the biopic mini-series Fosse/Verdon. Like Phoebe, Michelle has also enjoyed superiority throughout awards season with previous victories at the Emmys and Globes.

The full list of SAG (TV) winners are below:

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
THE CROWN

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Peter Dinklage, GAME OF THRONES

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jennifer Aniston, THE MORNING SHOW

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Tony Shalhoub, THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, FLEABAG

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES
Sam Rockwell, FOSSE/VERDON

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES
Michelle Williams, FOSSE/VERDON

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY / DRAMA SERIES
GAME OF THRONES