Martin Short Wins First SAG Award forOnly Murders in the Buildingbut Misses Ceremony After Contracting COVID

Mar. 15, 2025

Martin Short in New York City on March 30, 2024.Photo:Slaven Vlasic/Getty

Slaven Vlasic/Getty

The 2025SAG Awardshave named their winner for outstanding male actor in a comedy series!

On Sunday, Feb. 23,Martin Shortwon the award for his performance as Oliver Putnam inOnly Murders in the Buildingat the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. This year marked Short’s third individual SAG Award nod forOnly Murders, and first win.

Short, 74, could not make the ceremony, leadingJoey KingandJack Quaidto accept the award on his behalf. While they didn’t specify why he was absent, hisOnly MurderscostarSteve Martinrecently revealed thatShort contracted COVIDwhile attendingSNL50: The Anniversary Special.

Martin Short in ‘Only Murders in the Building’.Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu

Only Murders in the Buildingstars Short as Oliver Putnam, one of the three main crime-solvers-turned-podcasters in the show (alongside Martin, 79, andSelena Gomez).

Co-creator John Hoffman opened up about Short’s onscreen chemistry with costarMeryl Streep, who plays Loretta Durkin, in an October 2024 interview withDecider.

Hoffman said that it was"unbelievable"watching Streep, 75, and Short build their rapport onscreen. He recalled, “You know, it is one of the most unexpected turns but I remember thinking, like ‘God.' As I got to know Meryl, as I’ve known Marty and as I watched the two of them work together in season 3, I just — it was unbelievable.”

“We were laughing our heads off and they just delighted in each other on screen, off screen in every way,” he added.

The competition in the category was fierce, as other nominees includedAdam BrodyforNobody Wants This,Ted DansonforA Man on the Inside,Harrison FordforShrinkingandJeremy Allen WhiteforThe Bear.

Kristen Bell and Adam Brody inNobody Wants This(2024).Adam Rose/Netflix

Adam Rose/Netflix

Brody, 45, stars oppositeKristen Bellin the hit Netflix comedyNobody Wants This. The show chronicles a budding romance between newly single rabbi Noah (Brody) and sex podcaster Joanne (Bell, 44), who are faced with a slew of naysayers who claim their relationship won’t work.

“I knew that we had something that worked, but I had no idea the sort of wide swath of people that would enjoy it. That has been an absolute pleasant surprise,” Brody previously toldPEOPLEof his onscreenchemistry with Bell. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and it doesn’t happen often, whoever you are. So it’s very gratifying and exciting.”

The actor had no complaints when it comes to the internet referring to him as “the Hot Rabbi,” adding, “That’s mostly happening elsewhere online, so it’s like it’s happening to another person, but I’m not mad at it.”

Ted Danson inA Man on the Inside(2024).Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix

Colleen E. Hayes/Netflix

In an interview with PEOPLE in November 2024, the actor said thatgetting to explore aging on the showwas especially meaningful to him.

“We get to explore aging, all those things that, in this country, sometimes we’re afraid to talk about, memory loss, everything, we broach with a tenderness and a seriousness still contained in a kind of light-hearted, joyful way,” Danson explained. “I’m so happy because I’m 76 and I get to be part of this conversation, which is becoming more and more of my conversation in life.”

InShrinking, Ford, 82, plays psychiatrist Paul Rhodes, who is navigating his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease. He has been applauded for his portrayal of the character,telling PEOPLEin December 2024 that he takes the role “deadly f—ing seriously.”

“There’s no intention to make it into a joke,” he explained. “But there are people that absorb these kinds of experiences with grace and courage and a little bit of wisdom. And that is not to say that some people do not.”

“It’s just to say that this is a person particularly equipped to communicate what it is that it’s like, and that is something that I feel that is worth sharing with our audience,” he added.

Jeremy Allen White in ‘The Bear’.Courtesy of FX

Courtesy of FX

White, 34, was nominated for his performance as award-winning chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto onThe Bear.

While speaking toUproxxin 2022, the actor opened up about the intense preparation he underwent before taking on the role.

“Before the pilot, we had a fair amount of time to kind of rehearse and be in that space.Ayo [Edebiri]and I went to a two-week kind of crash course in culinary school,” he shared. “And then she went to work at a couple of restaurants, I think in L.A. And I worked at a restaurant in L.A., a different restaurant and then also worked with a really wonderful chef in New York."

“So we kind of separated after that,” White continued. “But Ayo and I got to know each other through learning to cook, which was really nice.”

“And then the rhythm of it and stuff like that. I see a lot of similarities between working in a kitchen and working on a film or television crew,” he added.

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SeePEOPLE’s full coverage of the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, airing on Netflix.

source: people.com