Actress Claire Danes scored a third major award Sunday night for her portrayal of autism self-advocate Temple Grandin in an HBO biopic, receiving the Screen Actors Guild, or SAG, award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or miniseries.
Danes’ latest win comes after she received a Golden Globe and an Emmy for the role.
“This is a really extraordinary role, one that I’m not going to find again any time soon,” Danes said after her win Sunday night. “All of this attention for my work is wonderful, but I can’t help but immediately defer to her (Grandin) because she lived it, I played it. There’s a difference.”
Grandin is well-known for writing and lecturing about her experiences as a person with autism. She is also highly regarded for her work designing humane animal-handling facilities.
The film “Temple Grandin” premiered on HBO last February. It depicts Grandin’s experience growing up with autism and showed how she thinks in pictures.
Actresses Catherine O’Hara and Julia Ormond also received SAG nominations in the same category as Danes for their roles as Grandin’s aunt and mother, respectively, in the movie.
It is AMAZING that such a great movie has received such critical acclaim. I wish there were more stories out there about successful individuals with autism making something of themselves despite their diagnosis. I also feel that the more we are able to get autism in the public eye, the more people will understand and accept those living with ASD.