Why The Screen Actors Guild Awards Got A New Name? Here's The Real Reason Behind The Decision

The Screen Actors Guild Awards are gearing up for a renewal in 2026. The prestigious award event is recognised to be an important part of Hollywood’s award season. Known for recognising stellar performances in prime-time television and film, the SAG Awards are among the major award events in the Hollywood industry. Along with the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscars, the SAG Awards are also a celebrated awards event. Now, SAG-AFTRA, the main body that organises the event, has changed its name.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards got a new name

On November 14, 2025, SAG-AFTRA announced that the Screen Actors Guild Awards will undergo a rebranding. They shared that the SAG Awards will be renamed the Actor Awards, and the change will take effect at the upcoming 2026 ceremony. Executive producer, Jon Brockett shared that the name change was announced at a SAG-AFTRA board meeting. For the uninitiated, SAG-AFTRA is a labour union, headed by actor, Sean Astin, that represents actors in film, television, and radio in the US. Speaking to the BBC, Jon said:

"Since the beginning, our statue has been called The Actor, and we're a show that's entirely about actors, so this new name is a perfect next step in the show's evolution."

Reason behind SAG Awards' name change

This renewal has marked a significant milestone in the three-decade history of the prestigious awards ceremony. For the uninitiated, the SAG Awards began in 1995 and are among the most celebrated award shows in Hollywood. SAG-AFTRA highlighted that the iconic trophy has always been called The Actor, and thus, the change is quite natural. He also explained that the name change was intended to give people a clearer view of the award show. The statement can be read as:

"Since the show started over 30 years ago, our iconic statuette has always been called The Actor, and simply evolving the show’s name to align with the award itself made obvious sense. We wanted to provide clearer recognition in terms of what the show is about for our domestic and global audiences – we honour actors in film and television."

JoBeth Williams, who is president of the board of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, also added the reason behind such a decision. Speaking to the BBC, JoBeth said many people don’t understand the union's name. And thus the name change will help the global audience to understand its meaning. She was quoted as saying:

"Now that our global audience is really growing, people don't always understand what the union name is. But 'the Actor Awards' they recognise and they know they're going to see their favourite actors when they tune in."

The Actors Award 2026: When and where to watch the Award show

On November 15, 2025, Netflix shared a post announcing that the Actors Award is set to enter a new era. The OTT giant platform revealed that the award show will be available to watch live on Netflix on March 1, 2026. For those unaware, in 2023, Netflix first took over the show and streamed it live on its YouTube channel. In 2024, the OTT giant began airing the award ceremony live on its streaming platform.

Winners of SAG Awards 2025

In 2025, Timothee Chalamet was declared Best Actor for the film, A Complete Unknown. Demi Moore took home the Best Actress award for her film, The Substance. Kieran Culkin was declared Best Supporting Actor for the movie, A Real Pain and Zoe Saldana was declared Best Supporting Actress for the film, Emilia Perez.

What are your thoughts on the decision made by SAG-AFTRA? Let us know.

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