Pedro Pascal has a significant cause for celebration at the SAG Awards 2024! The Last of Us actor triumphed over Succession’s Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, and Matthew Macfadyen, as well as The Morning Show’s Billy Crudup, for outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series.
Upon being announced as the winner, the 48-year-old Pascal graciously took the stage to accept the honor. He commenced his heartfelt speech by acknowledging that he allowed himself to revel in the moment more freely than he might have anticipated had he not won.
“This is wrong, for a number of reasons. I’m a little drunk. I thought I could get drunk,” he said. “And thank you, HBO for … geez Louise, I’m making a fool of myself. But thank you so much for this!”
After describing the award as “an incredible f—ing honor,” Pascal tearfully expressed gratitude to various colleagues and his family before candidly concluding his speech with,
“I’m going to have a panic attack and I’m going to leave.”
Backstage after his victory, Pascal confided in Tan France about his speech, saying,
“I don’t remember what I said. I just was very surprised. … Let’s YouTube it later.”
In The Last of Us, Pascal portrays Joel, a surrogate father figure embarking on a quest to transport 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey) to scientists, aiming to potentially save a post-apocalyptic world.
The two stars formed a close friendship off-screen.
“I couldn’t have asked for a more anchoring, generous, thoughtful teenager. And I don’t mean to say that in a patronizing way,” Pascal said during a Variety’s Actors on Actors chat with Beef star Steven Yeun.
He continued,
“I relied on Bella for so much of the experience. We were both scared and shy about that, but Bella just inspired me to be mature about it.”
Ramsey, aged 20, is also nominated for outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series, while The Last of Us is in contention for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series.
Cox portrayed media patriarch Logan Roy on Succession for three seasons, including the early episodes of the final season of the HBO series, which depicted his character’s shocking demise.
The 77-year-old actor, who has previously received three nominations in the same Emmys category, reflected on how the show’s success was tied to its ability to reflect societal realities, holding up a mirror to contemporary issues.
“I think it’s a brilliantly observant show of our time,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “And the man who plays an obscenely rich media tycoon on TV added, “Especially as the world is getting richer on one side [and] getting a hell of a lot poorer on the other side.”
Cox further expressed what he would miss most about his time on Succession, stating,
“It’s the cast. I’ll miss the cast and the crew, the camera guys, we got great camera operators. We got to be we’ve got a couple of great DPs. So you know, it’s the whole shebang.”
Alongside Cox, Culkin, and Macfadyen, Succession is also in the running for outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series, while Cox’s co-star Sarah Snook is nominated for outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series.
In The Morning Show season 3, the 55-year-old Crudup resumed his role as network CEO Cory Ellison, sharing the screen with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.
The actor discussed embodying the fast-talking character on an episode of NPR’s Fresh Air in September 2023.
“There is an incredible joy playing that character when I have enough time to prepare so I’m not stumbling over the words ’cause he doesn’t stumble, and he gets through those paragraphs in a single breath,” he said. “And it’s been a totally life-changing experience.”
Crudup had previously received nominations in the same category for his portrayal on The Morning Show in both 2020 and 2022.
Culkin returned to his role as Roman Roy in the final season of Succession, depicting the character’s transformation from his usual cocky demeanor to a more vulnerable state, both physically and emotionally.
Reflecting on building chemistry with his co-star J. Smith-Cameron, Culkin told the Associated Press,
“It’s nice to work with that lady, I mean, look at her … it’s a joy. I’ve been friends with J for nearly 20 years or so. I was just really excited when she got to play this part, which I believe was initially written to be a man.”
“It feels like the [chemistry] thing just sorta happened on its own and grew,” he further noted. “She’s a lovely scene partner and it’s fantastic to work with her.”
Culkin had previously been nominated in the same category for his portrayal in Succession in 2022. Throughout the current awards season, he has clinched a Critics Choice Award, Golden Globe Award, and Emmy Award, among others.
In the final season of Succession, the 49-year-old Macfadyen reprised his role as Tom Wambsgans, appearing alongside his on-again, off-again spouse Shiv Roy (Sarah Snook).
Speaking to Deadline, the English actor expressed his excitement at the chance to portray an American accent on screen, stating,
“I’d wanted to do an American accent in something.”
“I’d gone through pilot season hell once, and it wasn’t fun. Even if you’re known, if you haven’t done an American accent in something, people won’t put you in front of the networks,” he added.
Macfadyen previously won in the same category for his role on Succession in 2022 and was nominated in 2020.
The 30th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are currently streaming live on Netflix, from the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles.