The Oscar race is starting to heat up now in the aftermath of last night’s Screen Actor’s Guild Award ceremony.

There was a couple of surprise results in the film categories as the NASA-themed biopic Hidden Figures overcame stronger favourites Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight to win the Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture accolade.

The film stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Moane as three African American women who were recruited by NASA to help them provide key information that would the program launch its first space mission in the early 1960s.

Elsewhere, there was a big upset in Best Actor as Denzel Washington beat Oscar frontrunner Casey Affleck (Manchester) for his powerful role as scornful family man Troy Maxson in the drama Fences.

In contrast, Washington’s co-star Viola Davis clinched yet another award win in the Supporting Actress category for her performance as Troy’s wife Rose.

With her film continuing to dominate with critics and audiences, Emma Stone moved a step closer towards a potential Oscar victory as she was named Best Actress for her role as Mia in the romantic musical La La Land.

Mahershala Ali (who also starred in Hidden Figures) overcame the likes of Jeff Bridges, Hugh Grant and Dev Patel to win Best Supporting Actor for his subtle turn as drug dealer Juan in the drama Moonlight.

Finally Mel Gibson’s gripping war drama Hacksaw Ridge took home the Best Stunt Ensemble gong.

The full list of winners are below:

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
HIDDEN FIGURES

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Denzel Washington, FENCES

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Emma Stone, LA LA LAND

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Mahershala Ali, MOONLIGHT

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Viola Davis, FENCES

OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
HACKSAW RIDGE

Meanwhile in the television section, Netflix’s fantasy series Stranger Things beat off strong competition from The Crown, Game of Thrones and Westworld to win the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Drama Series accolade.

However The Crown did celebrate success in the acting categories as Claire Foy and John Lithgow won Best Actress (Drama) and Best Actor (Drama) for their respective roles as Queen Elizabeth II and Winston Churchill.

There was a diverse group of winners in the comedy categories as the prison show Orange is the New Black won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for the third successive year in a row. The competition included more popular favourites like The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family and Veep.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus picked up another Best Actress (Comedy) award for her performance as female president Selina Myer in Veep. In her speech, she then proceeded to criticise newly-elected president Donald Trump over his controversial decision to ban immigrants from entering America.

William H. Macy won Best Actor (Comedy) for the second time for his role as Frank Gallagher in the American version of Shameless.

Following wins at the Emmys and Golden Globes, Sarah Paulson made it a hat-trick of award victories by taking home Best Actress (TV Movie / Mini-Series) for her powerful role as Marcia Clark in the crime biopic series The People vs O.J. Simpson.

However co-star Courtney B. Vance missed out in the Best Actor category as he was beaten to the gong by Bryan Cranston’s portrayal of former president Lyndon Johnson in the political biopic All the Way.

Despite missing out on winning the Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series award, HBO’s Game of Thrones deservedly won Best Stunt Ensemble, mostly for its incredible episode “Battle of the Bastards”.

The full list of television nominees are below (winner predictions in blue):

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
STRANGER THINGS

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
John Lithgow, THE CROWN

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Claire Foy, THE CROWN

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
William H. Macy, SHAMELESS

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Julia-Louis Dreyfus, VEEP

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES
Bryan Cranston, ALL THE WAY

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES
Sarah Paulson, THE PEOPLE V O.J. SIMPSON

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