“Something huge has happened to me.” (Lee Jung Jae)
"Thank you for letting me dream, for opening the door to my dream.” (Jung Ho Yeon)
Lee Jung Jae made history tonight as the first Korean actor to win an award for the male lead role at the prestigious “SAG Awards.” The annual 28th SAG awards took place on February 28th (KST) at Santa Monica in California.
The male protagonist in the wildly successful Netflix series was previously nominated under the “Best Actor in a Drama Series” along with “Succession’s” Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong, and “The Morning Show’s” Billy Crudup.
The honor was eventually awarded to Lee Jung Jae. The star was praised for his performance in “Squid Game” as poverty driven, Seong Gi-Hun. Lee Jung Jae left viewers feeling a wave of sadness, sympathy, and rage, all while perfectly executing the complicated emotions of raw human feelings. The star took the audience for a ride in a world full of horror, greed, and the grueling lives of poverty.
The international star accepted the award and spoke, “Thank you so much. This is a huge thing to have happened to me.” The actor then took out a script he had previously prepared for the special event and commented, “I wrote a lot, but I don’t think I’ll be able to read all of it.”
Lee Jung Jae was unsuccessful at masking his excitement. He remarked, “First and foremost, thank you to everyone around the world who enjoyed watching the show. More than anything, I want to thank our Squid Game team.”
Another star also shined at the award show. Actress Jung Ho Yeon was given the award for the nomination “Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series.” The actress went on to win over highly competitive nominees such as “The Morning Show’s” Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, “Handmaid’s Tale’s” Elisabeth Moss, and the “Succession’s” Sarah Snook.
Jung Ho Yeon shed tears as she went up to receive her award. She looked at the well-renowned actors and actresses in the venue and remarked, “Today, there are people here who I have watched through the big screen, people who have helped me grow my dreams for acting.”
The actress continued, “The fact that I’m here today with the same people I watched, is an honor in itself. Thank you to director Hwang, cast, and staff of Squid Game.”
The star then concluded her speech with “Thank you for make me a dream, open the door”, implying her gratefulness to the viewers and people who had opened the door of opportunity for the actress.
Lee Jung Jae and Jung Ho Yeon have made history tonight at the “28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.” The two costars mark the first two Korean acts to have won an award as a leading male and female role. Lee Jung Jae and Jung Ho Yeon are the first acts to win for a non-English series.
“Squid Game” was also nominated for “Ensemble in a Drama Series” along with “Cobra Kai”, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”, “Loki”, and “Mare of Easttown.”
The award, however, was given to HBO’s “Succession.” “Squid Game” had won three out of the four nominations.
The cast of “Squid Game” were also present to support the two costars on the big day. Park Hae Soo, Kim Joo Ryeong, Anupam Tripathi, and director Hwang Dong Hyuk sat with the two stars at the award show.
The “Screen Actors Guild Awards” was first founded in 1995. The show is dedicated to recognizing acts on TV, by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
The awards show is often seen as the awards show that is successful in recognizing acts before the prestigious “Oscars.” This is due to the award show is highly keen on skilled acts.
Korean actress Yoon Yu Jung was also previously awarded at the “SAG Awards” for her role in “Minari” and went on to also receive an Oscar. The 2022 Oscars are expected to take place on March 27th.
<Photo credits=SAG screenshots,Instagram,Louis Vuitton>
<Translated by=Justina Kim(Dispatch)>
