If there was any clear takeaway to be had from last Sunday’s 31st Annual Screen Actors’ Guild Awards, it’s that the trophies are very heavy.

After the evening’s first winner — Kieran Culkin, as Best Supporting Motion Picture Performance by a Male Actor for “A Real Pain” — used most of his acceptance speech for an off-the-cuff comedic riff about the weight of the statuette he had just been handed, the topic became a theme, a seemingly impromptu running gag exemplifying the overall high spirits that marked the affair.

A palpable camaraderie among peers has always been a hallmark of the SAGs, and this year was not an exception — despite the ongoing aftermath of LA’s recent devastating wildfires, which personally impacted many of the individuals that were present, the overall tone of the event was more celebratory than somber.

Yet there was also another elephant in the room. While there was clear hesitation to directly address the cloud cast over the famously (though not exclusively) liberal entertainment community by the advent of the new Trump regime, host Kristen Bell kept things light during her “Frozen”-inspired opening sequence and other scripted “bits” throughout, conspicuously avoiding overtly political material. Most of the presenters and winners, occasional remarks about the importance of empathy aside, seemed to be playing it safe.

At least, they did until it was time for Jane Fonda to take the stage. The legendary star, receiving SAG’s prestigious Life Achievement Award, delivered a lengthy and impassioned speech that began as she tied her professional career directly to the political activism for which she is perhaps equally famous. Then, the 88-year-old screen icon — perhaps best known to the youngest generations among us for her long-running role opposite longtime friend (and “9 to 5” co-star) Lily Tomlin in “Grace and Frankie” — segued into a fiery call for her industry peers to resist once more; citing the need to stay “in community” and crystalizing remarks by earlier speakers about empathy into an impassioned description of an actor’s ability to promote understanding of other people’s experience through their work, she stressed the importance of bridging divisions because “a whole lot of people are going to be really hurt by what is happening, what is coming our way,” and encouraged welcoming those with political differences “into our tent, because we are going to need a really big tent to resist what’s coming at us.”

Recalling that her career began in the wake of the 1950’s “Red Scare,” when she observed first-hand the resistance with which many of Hollywood’s “biggest names” stood up against Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s congressional hearings during his infamous anti-Communist “witch hunt,” she implored her fellow actors to do the same. “This is it, and it’s not a rehearsal,” she said. “This is big-time serious, folks, so let’s be brave.”

The crowning moment of her speech, however, was her characteristically blunt and fiercely intelligent observation that “empathy is not ‘weak’ or ‘woke’ — and by the way, ‘woke’ just means you give a damn about other people.”

Despite her clearly focused messaging, Fonda never referenced Donald Trump by name — but she did deliver a particularly cutting swipe when, in providing an example or the need for actors to understand and empathize with the “traumatized characters” they play even when they “hate the behavior” they have to portray, she cited Sebastian Stan’s performance in “The Apprentice,” in which the actor delivers a critically-lauded portrayal of the currently-sitting president in his younger years, during his mentorship with infamously amoral closeted homosexual Roy Cohn.

As for the winners in the year’s competitive categories, there was a mix between the predictable and the unexpected. 

“Shōgun,” FX’s acclaimed adaptation of the 1975 James Clavell historical epic novel about power struggles in 17th century feudal Japan, dominated SAG’s Television Drama categories much along the same lines as it did at last fall’s Primetime Emmy Awards, winning in both the Lead Actor categories (Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, Best Male and Female performance, respectively) as well as taking Best Ensemble Cast, SAG’s equivalent of the Best Drama Series award. The show, which has been renewed for a second and third season, also received the Best Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a TV Series.

Culkin’s aforementioned win as Supporting Male Actor in a Motion Picture was the latest in a long list of victories, cementing his likelihood of winning the same category in the upcoming Oscar race; likewise, Zoe Saldaña’s victory in the Supporting Female Actor category for the controversy-plagued “Emilia Pérez” makes her win at the Academy seem all but inevitable.

Jessica Gunning was named Best Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series for the Netflix hit stalker drama “Baby Reindeer,” and Jean Smart racked up yet another win as Lead Female Actor in a Comedy Series for “Hacks.”

Somewhat less predictable was Demi Moore’s win as Best Leading Film Performance by a Female Actor for “The Substance,” which places the veteran screen star — once considered a “dark horse” in this year’s awards race — as a favorite to repeat her growing list of victories on Oscar night. Colin Farrell’s chameleonic turn as the title character in “The Penguin” earned the Irish performer the award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series,

Reasserting its growing acclaim by taking the prize for Best Ensemble in Motion Picture – the equivalent of Oscar’s Best Picture award — was the UK-produced “Conclave,” following its BAFTA win in the same category and making it a firm front-runner to clinch Academy honors as well.

A pair of refreshingly unexpected victories were claimed by Hulu’s popular “Only Murders in the Building,” whose fourth season picked up wins for both Ensemble in a Television Comedy and Lead Male TV Comedy Performance for co-star Martin Short; but perhaps the evening’s biggest surprise was Timothée Chalamet’s win as Best Lead Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture for playing Bob Dylan in the biopic “A Complete Unknown,” which sparked a rare moment when all of the young star’s competing nominees — including widely-assumed favorites Adrien Brody and Colman Domingo (for “The Brutalist” and “Sing Sing,” respectively) — were seen to react with visible enthusiasm when his name was announced.

In its intriguing mix of the sure bets and long shots in the winners’ circle, the SAG Awards seemed to suggest a new “normal” among Hollywood’s elite players, emphasizing diversity and empathy in its choices over the “buzz” and prestige that typically drive such industry ceremonies. Ultimately, though, the results in the SAG competition feel less noteworthy than the inspiring spirit of resistance bestowed by Fonda’s use of her acceptance speech as a thrillingly defiant call-to-arms against the encroaching fascism of Donald Trump’s return to power.

The complete list of winners is below.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role: Timothée Chalamet in “A Complete Unknown”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: Demi Moore in “The Substance”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Kieran Culkin in “A Real Pain”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Zoe Saldaña in “Emilia Pérez”

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture: “Conclave”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series: Colin Farrell in “The Penguin” 

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series: Jessica Gunning in “Baby Reindeer”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series: Hiroyuki Sanada in “Shōgun”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series: Anna Sawai in “Shōgun”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series: Martin Short in “Only Murders in the Building”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Jean Smart in “Hacks”

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series: “Shōgun”

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series: “Only Murders In The Building”

Life Achievement Award: Jane Fonda

STUNT ENSEMBLE HONORS

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture: “The Fall Guy”

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series: “Shōgun”