‘Shōgun’ star Hiroyuki Sanada becomes one of most awarded actors on TV with SAG win

24 February, 2025

Hiroyuki Sanada

Shōgun actor Hiroyuki Sanada has become one of most awarded actors on TV following his SAG Awards win last night (February 23).

The star picked up the Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Drama Series at the ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles for his role as Lord Yoshii Toranaga in the FX series.

Accepting the award, he said: “I started acting in Japan when I was five-years-old, and moved to LA 20 years ago. Luckily, I worked with great filmmakers and actors, and I learned a lot from all of them. I can see some faces in this room.”

“I put everything, every single experience in my life, into Shōgun, then Shōgun brought me here,” Sanada continued. “So I’d like to thank all my coworkers in my life, and I would also like to thank my team for always supporting me. This is for you. Thank you so much.”

It comes after he won similar prizes at last year’s Emmys, this year’s Golden Globes and the Critics’ Choice Awards. The show won five awards overall last night, including Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Drama Series.

Based on the 1975 novel of the same name by James Clavell, the series was overseen by the husband-and-wife creative team of Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, the latter of whom was a co-writer of Top Gun: Maverick. The ten-episode series was broadcast on Hulu and FX in the US, while UK viewers were able to watch it via Disney+.

It was confirmed last May, shortly after the show completed its first season, that two more seasons are now in development.

Elsewhere on the night, Timothée Chalamet took home the Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Leading Role for his portrayal in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. He also said he was inspired by Daniel Day-Lewis during his speech.

Other winners on the night included the cast of Conclave who took home the win for Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture and Demi Moore who won Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Leading Role The Substance. You can see the full list of winners here.

Meanwhile, the director of the original version of Shōgun recently expressed his confusion at the new show’s popularity, saying it isn’t designed to appeal to American audiences.

Despite this criticism, the 2024 series remains critically adored, with NME ranking it number two in the 20 Best TV Shows Of 2024, and describing it as “a Game Of Thrones successor”.

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