'Spotlight' and diversity winners at SAG Awards

"Spotlight," a drama about sexual abuse in the Catholic church, landed the top prize on Saturday at the 22nd Screen Actors Guild Awards that also saw black actors score major wins.

The awards, seen as a bellwether of the all-important Academy Awards, were being closely watched as they were taking place amid a controversy over the lack of diversity in this year's list of Oscar nominees.

"Spotlight" took the prize for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture, the SAG equivalent of an Oscar.

It bested "Beasts of No Nation," a drama about a child soldier, "The Big Short," about the sub-prime mortgage crisis, "Straight Outta Compton," a biopic about the N.W.A rap group, and "Trumbo," about the life of acclaimed screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who was the target of a witch hunt during the McCarthy era.

In the acting honors, Leonardo DiCaprio won the best actor award for his portrayal of fur trapper Hugh Glass in the revenge thriller "The Revenant."

DiCaprio, 41, an Oscar favorite for the gritty survival story, beat competition from Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Johnny Depp (Black Mass), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs) and Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl).

In the best actress category, Brie Larson won for "Room," in which she plays a kidnapped young woman living in captivity with her son.

But perhaps most notable at the star-studded ceremony were the number of black actors honored as Hollywood reels from a fierce backlash over the lack of diversity in the Oscar nominations.

Idris Elba scooped two awards, one for best supporting actor for Netflix's "Beasts of No Nation," and one for best actor in a TV series for his role as a detective in the British crime drama "Luther."