Timothée Chalamet Wins Best Actor for A Complete Unknown and Makes SAG Award History

Timothée Chalamet is getting the recognition he deserves, winning Best Actor for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown at the SAG Awards.

Established in 1995, The Screen Actors Guild Awards recognize actors’ outstanding performances on the gold and silver screens. Determined by members of the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) labor union, this awards show is one of many anticipated ceremonies during award season. This year, the SAG Awards took place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, and hosted by Kristen Bell.

There is an overlap between SAG union members and the Academy’s voting members, so the results of the SAG Awards are often seen as a precursor to the Oscars.

Toward the end of Sunday night’s festivities, actresses Lily Gladstone and Michelle Yeoh took the stage to present the Actor for Best Male Actor in a Leading Role in A Motion Picture. Along with Chalamet, this year’s nominees included Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Daniel Graig (Queer), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), and Ralph Fiennes (Conclave).

Many predicted that Adrien Brody would be the one to win the Actor. But in a surprise upset, Timottée Chalamet took home the Actor for his stunning portrayal of legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.

The SAG results are a real game changer to the Oscars race. Nominees for the 2025 Oscar for Best Actor in a leading role include Chalamet, Fiennes, Domingo, and Brody for their aforementioned roles, as well as Sebastian Stan for The Apprentice.

Receiving the Actor is a considerable milestone for Chalamet. Other than his massive talent, the young star is notorious for constantly losing all the prestigious nominations he has been obtained for. SAG, Academy Awards, Golden Globes, you name it, Chalamet has been nominated for it, something he joked about in a Saturday Night Live monologue last month.

“It’s an enormous honor going to these award shows, it’s such a great experience. But I just. Keep. Losing. And each time, it gets hard to pretend, it doesn’t sting,” he told the live studio audience.

Chalamet was last nominated for this same award in 2017 for his role as Elio in Call Me by Your Name. However, he lost to Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour.

But this win isn’t just a victory for Chalamet; it also makes SAG Award history. Chalamet is now the youngest actor to win the Best Actor category at 29.

A Complete Unknown is in select theaters. Watch the 97 Academy Awards hosted by Conan O’Brien this Sunday on ABC.