5 big awards Squid Game has won in the West
Netflix's hit series, Squid Game is dominating the awards season again. In its most recent win, Squid Game bagged 3 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards. The SGA awards were held on February 28 in California, US.
The Netflix hit Squid Game was nominated in four categories (three out of which it won) at the Screen Actors Guild awards 2022:
1. Outstanding Action Performance as a Stunt Ensemble
2. Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
3. Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
4. Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
The cast brought home the statue for Outstanding Action Performance as a Stunt Ensemble, while Lee Jung-Jae and Jung Ho-Yeon, both brought in the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series.
With these three wins, the series has become the first foreign language series to win small screen awards in the US. But the SAGs aren't the only awards ceremony that Squid Game has taken over.
Here are the award shows Squid Game has made a mark at since its release:
1. GOLDEN GLOBES 2022
At the Golden Globes award ceremony held on January 10, 2022, Squid Game raked in the award for Best Supporting Actor. Won by O Yeong-su for the role of Oh Il Nam, the award became the first ever Golden Globe won by a South Korean actor.
Beating out Billy Crudup, Kieran Culkin, Mark Duplass and Brett Goldstein, at the age of 77, O Yeong-su won the Golden Globe. He said on Korean TV, "I feel like I’m floating on air. It makes me think, ‘I need to calm down, organise my thoughts, and hold myself back right now. It’s hard for me to handle the volume of calls and messages I’ve been receiving." (READ MORE HERE: Remember Player Number 1 of Netflix hit Squid Game? He just made Golden Globe history)
2. AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE 2021
The AFI awards are "selections that are made through a jury process". The selection process is done by AFI trustees, critics, artists and scholars who come together to determine the particular year’s 'most outstanding achievements'. For 2021, the AFI awarded Squid Game the AFI Special Award.
The Special Awards category is meant for films and shows that deserve to be recognised and are of 'excellence' but are not at par with the Institute's guidelines for film and television. Originally meant to be held in January 2022, due to the rising cases of Covid-19, the ceremony will be now held on March 11, 2022.
3. PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS 2021
Squid Game took home the award for The Bingeworthy Show of 2021 at the People's Choice Awards on December 8, 2021. With over 142 million users chiming in to watch the show in its first 28 days, Squid Game was nominated alongside Cobra Kai, Sex/Life, Ted Lasso, Mare of Easttown, Outer Banks and The White Lotus.
In the previous year, Outer Banks had won the award in this category.
4. GOTHAM AWARDS 2021
Held on November 29, 2021, the Gotham awards marked Squid Game's first win in the US. Organised by Independent Filmmaker Project, the series won the award for Breakthrough Series - Over 40 Minutes.
During their acceptance speech, director Hwang Dong-hyuk said, "People said it’s unrealistic, it’s too violent, it’s absurd, it’s weird. It took 12 years to make this show and show it to the people. And it took less than 12 days to become the number one show on the plane. What can I say? It’s a miracle. If there are miracles, this is a miracle. It happened to me. And all I can say is thank you. Thank you for watching it."