2025 SAG Awards: 4 Key Highlights You Can’t Miss

The 2025 SAG Awards were filled with memorable moments. As the stars of television and film gathered together to celebrate one another, the evening was packed with candid, heartfelt and inspiring moments that made it an award ceremony worth remembering. If you missed the show, here are four key highlights that made the night more special. 

Jane Fonda, with six decades of work in TV and movies, which earned her several accolades, including two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs and seven Golden Globes, was honored with the Life Achievement Award during the 2025 SAG Awards. She experienced technical difficulties during her speech, but the actress just shrugged it off and joked, “I can conjure up voices!” when the pre-recorded announcer started speaking over her.

She also talked about her career and how she’s a “late bloomer.” Fonda said, “I have had a really weird career. Totally un-strategic. I retired for 15 years and then I came back at 65, which is not usual, and then I made one of my most successful movies in my 80s. And probably in my 90s, I’ll be doing my own stunts in an action movie,” per Page Six. 

A lot of presenters reunited with their former co-stars. New Girl co-stars Zoeey Deschanel and Max Greenfield reunited on stage to present the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Deschanel and Greenfield starred together on the comedy series from 2011 to 2018 with Jake Johnson, Lamorne Morris, Damon Wayans Jr. and Hannah Simone. The cast of Only Murders in the Building won the category.

X-Files stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson were also reunited as presenters. They presented the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. The cast of Shōgun won the category. Duchovny and Anderson starred in the science fiction drama series from 1993 to 2002 and reprised their roles again during the revival in 2016 and 2018. 

Host Kristen Bell also reunited with sort-of co-star Leighton Meester, who helped with her bit. Although Bell is known for her role as Gossip Girl, she technically never shared scenes with Meester or any of the Gossip Girl stars, as she only voiced the titular character and had a cameo in the finale. Nevertheless, hearing her voice deliver Gossip Girl's spiels and calling Timothée Chalamet the ‘not-so-lonely boy’—a reference to Penn Badgley’s character’s moniker—made fans reminisce about all the Upper East Side drama. 

Kieran Culkin admitted he didn’t prepare anything and took a jab at Adrien Brody, reminding him of the 45-seconds allotted time for speech (in a surprising twist, however, Brody didn’t win Best Actor award. The honor went to Timothee Chalamet’s portrayal of Bob Dylan in the biopic A Complete Unknown). Culkin said, “There was no reason to take that shot; I love you, it's a joke. You take your time. Lord knows I will, 'cause I didn't think of anything,” per People. 

Aside from joking with Brody, Culkin also said how the award is “incredibly heavy.” He later thanked his family, and A Real Pain director and co-star Jesse Eisenberg. 

Celebrities Mikey Madison, Bowen Yang, Jessica Williams, and veteran actress Jodie Foster all shared their journeys of how they got their start in Hollywood. It’s both funny and inspiring to see how each of them achieved their dream of becoming an actor, despite the many hurdles and challenges they faced along the way.