Shout-out to the Tuch!
When the cast of Conclave took the stage on Sunday night at the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, star Ralph Fiennes spoke on their behalf for their win for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
He took care to thank those who were absent from the evening’s festivities, including Stanley Tucci. Brían F. O’Byrne, and director Edward Berger. “I’ve been designated to speak on behalf of our Conclave ensemble,” Fiennes said. “We’re missing the wonderful Stanley Tucci, Brían F. O’Byrne, and many, many others of our great cast — Thomas Loibl, Lucian Msamati.”
No reason was given for Tucci’s absence.
Fiennes was joined onstage by several of his Conclave costars, including Sergio Castellitto, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini. SAG-AFTRA has explicit rules about who may be included in the nomination, so the only ones listed were the four actors present, as well as Msamati and Tucci.
Notably, Fiennes did not mention Carlos Diehz, who portrays Cardinal Benitez, a crucial character in the twists and turns of the film. Diehz was not one of the main actors honored as part of the cast. SAG-AFTRA eligibility rules state that the casts “shall be represented by those actors with single-card billing in the main titles, wherever those titles appear.”
Courtesy of Focus Features
The entire cast is credited with the honor, but for those not single-card billed, they will only receive a certificate for the honor, not a statuette.
Fiennes used the remainder of his speech to thank their producer, the Italian film crew, and Berger. “We had a blessed time with Edward, whose intelligence and perception and insight and care of us brought us the gift of our community of ensemble,” he said.
“People have spoken so eloquently and movingly about community,” Fiennes reflected. “I don’t want to add more, but I think we do recognize the supreme importance of it in our work and in the world. And huge, huge admiration to the other ensembles we’ve seen tonight. What we’re celebrating is our community.”
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This marks the second of two big wins for Conclave in the last week. It also took home the top prize at the BAFTAs last weekend, winning Best Film at the annual British Film Awards. With an awards season that has featured a wide array of winners and flip-flopping favorites, the SAG Awards victory puts Conclave mildly into frontrunner status leading in to the Academy Awards, which will take place on March 1.