Big little gems you didn’t see on TV
TV viewers saw Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri take home three Screen Actors Guild awards and This Is Us score two trophies. But what happened away from the cameras Sunday night?
Here are seven things we saw backstage and in the auditorium that weren’t on the TNT and TBS telecast.
Frances McDormand’s college roommate cheers her on.
When McDormand accepted the SAG Award for her role in Three Billboards, no one was smiling bigger and laughing louder than The Big Sick’s Holly Hunter, who happens to be McDormand’s old Yale School of Drama roommate and Raising Arizona co-star.
“We’ve been friends for decades, you know, since 1981,” Hunter told USA TODAY. “She’s a powerhouse.”
Get Out stars didn’t win, but they celebrate anyway.
Director Jordan Peele was honored that Sterling K. Brown mentioned in his acceptance that his This Is Us “white family (is) thankfully nothing like the family in Get Out.”
“That was awesome!” Peele told USA TODAY during a commercial break. “Every time that guy wins, he brings tears to your eyes.”
Nicole Kidman isn’t casting Keith Urban in Big Little Lies.
Backstage after winning her SAG award, Kidman told reporters that her husband is “my biggest supporter, (and) every chance I get, I honor what he does.” But that doesn’t mean he’ll be joining the cast of HBO’s Big Little Lies, which returns for Season 2. “I don’t think having a cameo on one of my films would interest him, (but) I sleep with him!” the SAG winner said with a grin.
William H. Macy says he attended men-focused Time’s Up meetings.
“We had a meeting. A bunch of guys got together under the auspices of Time’s Up,” the Shameless winner said backstage. “And that’s good for men. Men don’t talk enough, and they don’t talk to other men. And we talked.”
Tom Hanks gets a shout-out — and he wasn’t even there!
Who’s the most trustworthy celebrity in Hollywood? “Gosh. There’s an entire list,” Morgan Freeman said backstage after accepting his lifetime achievement award.
“Tom Hanks. Right? He exudes trust. Everything you see Tom Hanks in you like, you appreciate him.”
Sterling K. Brown rips his tux.
Brown entered the press room with a huge grin, then walked backward to the microphone. A dance move? Nope. “I’m backing up because I ripped my jacket,” the This Is Us star said while holding his two SAG awards (one for best actor and one for best TV drama ensemble). “Excuse me. I’ve lost my voice.”
Kristen Bell gets a family hug.
Bell, the show’s first host, looked on patiently as the This Is Us cast posed for a photo backstage. Finally, she stepped on the podium for her photo before Brown bounded over and gave her a hug. “You killed it tonight,” Brown said.
This Is Us co-star Justin Hartley also saluted Bell: “Congrats. It worked!”