Can you win a Screen Actors Guild Award while you're in the process of winning a Screen Actors Guild Award? I'm asking for a friend. OK, I'm asking for Winona Ryder. The cast of Stranger Things won the SAG drama series ensemble award on Sunday night, and somehow, even with a gang of rowdy and adorable child actors on stage, it was Winona Ryder's reactions at the SAGs that were the hit of the night. As David Harbour (who plays Chief Hopper) gave an energetic and forceful acceptance speech, his co-star's expressions stole the entire show.
You can't blame the actor for being overwhelmed in the moment. Stranger Things was up against the casts of The Crown, Westworld, Downton Abbey, and Game Of Thrones for the award. And with all those costume dramas and posh English accents making up the field, an ensemble that's half monster-fighting kids were the Screen Actors Guild's choice. Ryder (Joyce) and Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) both lost out to The Crown's Claire Foy in the Female Actor In Drama Series category, but that didn't appear to put a damper on their evening. The Stranger Things gang basically threw a party on stage, and I'd like to thank Ryder right now for standing next to the cast member chosen to speak on their behalf.
Watch the full video of Harbour's acceptance speech below and try not to be delighted by Ryder's elastic reactions. You can't. It's impossible.
Confused, elated, concerned — Ryder couldn't decide what she was feeling during this speech, so she decided to feel everything. And the internet could not get enough of it. While the speech was still going on, Twitter began to light up with appreciation for Ryder's face.
Isn't live TV grand? The cast of a Spielberg-esque cult classic in the making won a prestigious award voted on by their fellow actors and Winona Ryder became the inspiration for a dozen new reaction gifs in the process. I bet some of you have already made her your new profile picture. Because Winona Ryder at the SAG Awards is the human embodiment of That Feel When anything — literally anything — happens to you.
