Here’s Why the SAG Awards Changed Their Name to the Actor Awards
The SAG Awards, which were first presented in 1995, are changing their name to The Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA. The move gets away from the word “sag” and also brings AFTRA, which merged with the Screen Actors Guild in 2012, into the name of the award.
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Jon Brockett, the showrunner and executive producer of the award show’s telecast, and JoBeth Williams, the actress and chair of SAG-AFTRA’s Awards Committee, announced the news on Friday (Nov. 14).
“The Actor” is the name of the award that is presented on the show. This brings the name of the award into the name of the show, just as Oscars are presented on The Oscars.
In a joint statement, Brockett and Williams, said: “The show’s name is now The Actor Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA, but the foundation remains the same: it’s actors honoring actors. The statuette has always been called The Actor, and we’re simply aligning the show’s title with the name of the award itself and the union behind it.
“After the merger between SAG and AFTRA, we continued to refer to the show as the SAG Awards. Now, with the new name of the show — The Actor Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA — we’re finally able to fully recognize that merger and align it with the name of our statuette, The Actor.
“To help ease the transition for reps at studio and network, FYC campaign materials will continue using Screen Actors Guild Awards through this season’s pre-nomination voting period ending on Jan. 5, 2026. Moving forward, post-nominations, we will be advising everyone to use The Actor Awards.”
The SAG Awards aired on NBC from 1995-97, but then moved to basic cable for many years, where they aired on TNT and TBS. They moved to Netflix in 2023, first via YouTube and then on the streamer directly. The show’s 32nd edition is set for March 1. The show celebrates performances both in film and on television.
The show has been presented at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in all four of its outings. There was no show in 2021, amid the pandemic. The show has had a no-host format through most of its history, but has had a host the last two years — Idris Elba in 2024 show and Kristen Bell earlier this year.
SAG-AFTRA is the world’s largest acting union, with 160,000 members.
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