‘Emotional’ Oldman one step closer to Oscars glory

British actor picks up Screen Actors Guild award as ‘silence breakers’ are celebrated

Gary Oldman fought back tears on stage at the Screen Actors Guild Awards as he took another step towards an Oscar win.

He picked up the prize for outstanding performance by a leading actor for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour at the ceremony, which also saw “silence breakers” who spoke out about sexual harassment celebrated.

Oldman fought back tears and admitted he had “become very emotional” as he received the award, which he called “a tremendous honour”.

Having already bagged a Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Movie Award for the role, and nominated for a Bafta, he is now one step closer to scoring his first Oscar.

Oldman has only been nominated once before, for a supporting prize for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Speaking backstage after his win, Oldman played down his string of awards triumphs, but said he is enjoying himself.

Asked how his standing in Hollywood has been changed by his recent success, he said: “You have your moment in the sun, there’s no guarantee that you’re going to keep working.

“God forbid, I could get sick, I could get hit by a car.

“We have today but there’s no guarantee we’re going to get tomorrow.

“So my feeling is: enjoy the moment in the sun, it will eclipse, it always does, and it will be someone else standing up here next year. I’m enjoying it.”

Oldman and The Crown’s Claire Foy were the only two British winners at the awards, which saw big wins for movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and TV series Big Little Lies.

Foy won the prize for outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series for playing the Queen in Netflix series The Crown, but was not present to collect her prize.

Elsewhere, the likes of Ashley Judd, Oliva Munn and Anthony Rapp were among the stars hailed at the ceremony for making allegations against highprofile figures.

Rosanna Arquette, who was one of the actresses to allege she was harassed by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, was applauded on stage as she presented an award, accompanied by Marisa Tomei.

The Oscar winner told Arquette: “You are one of the silence breakers and we all owe you a debt of gratitude.”

The pair also paid tribute to other accusers, including Asia Argento, Judd and Mira Sorvino, who also made allegations against Weinstein.

Rapp, who alleged he was harassed by Kevin Spacey, was also praised by Tomei.

“We are inspired that so many powerful voices are no longer silenced by the fear of retaliation,” the actress said

Arquette and Tomei presented the outstanding performance by a female actor in a TV movie or limited series to Nicole Kidman for playing a domestic violence victim in Big Little Lies.

After embracing her co-stars and fellow nominees Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern, the actress, 50, said: “How wonderful it is that our careers can go beyond 40 years old.”

Gabrielle Carteris, the actress and president of SAG-AFTRA, the actors union that votes for the awards, praised the Me Too movement as she told the crowd “a change is coming”.

She said: “Truth is power and women are stepping into this power. We are in the midst of a massive cultural shift.”

Pictures: Getty Images. Top: Darkest Hour star Gary Oldman with his award from the Screen Actors Guild, and, above, Rosanna Arquette who was one of the actresses who was applauded for speaking out about sexual harassment in the movie industry.