LOS ANGELES (AP) — The cast of Hidden Figures has won the Screen Actors Guild Award for best film cast, beating out several other Oscar best picture contenders.
The film tells the story of a group of black female mathematicians who were crucial to the United States’ successes during the early days of the space program. The film stars Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson and Janelle Monáe.
Henson lauded the real-life women who inspired the film. She says the film is about unity and what happens when people work together.
The category isn’t a direct showdown of Oscar best picture contenders since La La Land, which received a record-tying 14 Academy Award nominations, was not nominated for a SAG cast award.
Denzel Washington is the winner of the Screen Actors Guild Award for best film actor for his performance in Fences.
Washington’s performance as a bitter garbage man in 1950s Pittsburgh won him Tony Awards for a Broadway revival in 2010. The actor also directed the film version of August Wilson’s play, the first time the late playwright’s work had been adapted for the big screen.
Viola Davis and Mahershala Ali are the winners of the Screen Actors Guild Awards for best supporting film actor.
Davis won for her role in Fences. Ali won for his role in Moonlight.
