Pop Culture

Viola Davis on Timothée Chalamet's SAG Awards Speech, Says It Was 'Beautiful'

Chalamet counted Davis among the "greats" during his SAG Award acceptance speech.

US actress Viola Davis attends the Los Angeles premiere of MGM Amazon Studios' "G20" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, March 27, 2025.
UNIQUE NICOLE/AFP via Getty Images

Viola Davis commended Timothée Chalamet's "beautiful" SAG Award acceptance speech, where the actor named her as one of the "greats."

On Thursday (March 27), the EGOT winner attended the premiere of her new political action drama G20, and spoke to Access Hollywood on the red carpet. Anchor Zuri Hall asked Davis about her reaction to Chalamet's speech, which the actress revealed she heard about from her adopted daughter, Genesis.

"It was a speech about excellence. It wasn't about celebrity, it wasn't about EGOT," said Davis, who was joined by her husband, Julius Tennon. "I completely understood it and it was beautiful."

At the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, Chalamet won Best Male Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in biopic A Complete Unknown. In his speech, the actor named other pop culture icons whose success he aspires to replicate.

"I’m as inspired by Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, and Viola Davis as I am by Michael Jordan and Michael Phelps. I wanna be up there so I’m deeply grateful to that. This doesn’t signify that, but it’s a little more fuel, it’s a little more ammo to keep going."

While Davis and Chalamet haven't yet starred in a film together, the actors appeared in a 2021 documentary dedicated to another Hollywood "great," Meryl Streep: The Winner Takes It All.

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