JAKE COYLE, AP Film Writer
"Orange Is the New Black" star Uzo Aduba kicked off the 22nd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards with her second win in two years, while the Netflix prison comedy also repeated for best ensemble in a television comedy series.
"Look at this stage," said co-star Laura Pepron, accepting the ensemble award with the show's cast behind her. "This is what we talk about when we talk about diversity."
Accepting the award for best actress in a comedy, Aduba thanked the series' creator Jenji Kohan for making "a show that reflects and represents so many people." She addressed actors watching at home, urging them to "keep plugging."
"No matter if anyone tells you get out of that line you're waiting in, stay in line," said Aduba. "You have the chance. It is yours."
Best actor in a TV drama went to Jeffery Tambor for the acclaimed Amazon series "Transparent."
The SAG Awards, held at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium and broadcast live on TNT and TBS, came amid uproar over a second straight year of all-white Academy Awards acting nominees. In the weeks since then, the nominations have spawned cries for an Oscar boycott and precipitated membership changes for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Yet this year's SAG nominees in 15 film and television categories aren't as homogenous as the Oscars. Among the five film nominees for best ensemble are the N.W.A biopic "Straight Outta Compton" and the child soldier drama "Beasts of No Nation," whose star Idris Elba is also nominated.
The SAG Awards are, in part, a dress rehearsal for likely Oscar winners to try out their acceptance speeches. This year, those nominees include Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Revenant"), Brie Larson ("Room") and Alicia Vikander ("The Danish Girl"), and their podium remarks could also be an indication of whether or how they might address the diversity turmoil surrounding this year's awards season.
The great comedian Carol Burnett is to accept the SAG lifetime achievement award from presenters Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
AP's Sandy Cohen in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
