Sandra Oh took home a SAG Award for best female actor in a drama series for her outstanding performance in the BBC drama Killing Eve. While at the podium, however, the veteran TV actress made sure to give props to three black actors that graciously applauded her on-screen achievements: Alfre Woodard, Jamie Foxx and Lena Waithe.
After shouting out her Killing Eve co-stars, Oh let us know that Woodard was one of her earliest cheerleaders.
“I want to thank Alfre Woodard. In 1997 — she’s never going to remember this — she whispered in my ear, ‘I’m so proud of you out there. We fight the same fight,’” Oh recalled onstage.
“Jamie Foxx, in 2006, pulled me aside and he said, ‘Keep going,’’ and in 2017, Lena Waithe, she just embraced me and said, ‘You’ve already won. It’s in the work.’ So thank you to my fellow actors,” she concluded.
After her acceptance speech, Waithe immediately took to Twitter to respond.
“Wooow,” she wrote Sunday night. “What a gift you are. Thank you for shining so bright. Your commitment to the craft is breathtaking. Congrats!!”
With her Killing Eve win, Oh, a Canadian-Asian actress, has become only the second actor to win in this category for two different shows after her longtime run on Grey’s Anatomy.