'Squid Game' Wins SAG Awards for Best Stunt Ensemble

SEOUL: The hit South Korean TV series "Squid Game" has won an award at the United States' Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards for best stunt ensemble, Yonhap news agency reported.

At the advanced announcement of the winners of the 2022 SAG Awards on Sunday (US time), "Squid Game" was awarded Outstanding Action Performance By a Stunt Ensemble in a TV series.

The Korean-language Netflix original outdid "Cobra Kai," "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," "Loki" and "Mare of Easttown."

It is the first time that a non-English TV series has received an award at the SAG Awards given by Hollywood actors and considered a key indicator for the Oscars.

On the film's side, Bong Joon Ho's Oscar-winning sensation "Parasite" was awarded the best ensemble trophy in 2020, given to the entire cast with the finest acting achievements in film.

Last year, South Korean veteran actress Youn Yuh Jung won best supporting actress for her role in the American immigration film "Minari."

For this year's SAG Awards, the Korean-language series was nominated in four categories, including the top prize of the best ensemble. Other prize winners will be announced later during a televised ceremony.

Directed and written by Hwang Dong Hyuk, the nine-part series, which is about contestants competing in deadly Korean children's playground games to win 45.6 billion won (US$38.2 million) in prize money, became the most successful TV show in Netflix history with more than 1.65 billion hours of viewing in the first four weeks after its release on Sept 17.

It was also reported that actress Jung Ho Yeon won the best actress at the event for her role in the survival drama "Squid Game."

Jung brought home the prize of Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. She beat Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon of "The Morning Show," Elisabeth Moss of "The Handmaid's Tale" and Sarah Snook of "Succession."

Jung played North Korean defector Sae Byeok who participates in the deadly game to earn prize money of 45.6 billion won (US$37.8 million) in order to rescue her parents across the North Korean border and buy a house for her family.

She is the second South Korean actress to win a SAG Award given by Hollywood actors, following Youn Yuh Jung last year.

-- BERNAMA