Martin Short wins his first SAG Award ever, misses ceremony after getting COVID

Martin Short wasn't in the building as he finally picked up the first Screen Actors Guild Award of his career.

The comedian, 74, earned a surprise win at Sunday's SAG Awards for best actor in a comedy series for his performance on "Only Murders in the Building."

This was Short's first SAG Award win ever. He was previously nominated twice in the same category for "Only Murders."

But Short wasn't present for the ceremony, which aired on Netflix a week after the "Saturday Night Live" 50th anniversary special. On Thursday, Steve Martin revealed Short had COVID-19 and theorized he contracted it at the "SNL" event. The two comedians rescheduled two of their tour dates due to the illness.

After Sunday's awards show, Short addressed his win in a statement to People magazine.

"The honor of being in 'Only Murders in the Building' is the most spectacular compliment anyone could be given," he said. "The honor of being awarded by your peers is even greater. Thank you so so much."

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Short's win was a surprise, as Jeremy Allen White was generally expected to receive the award for "The Bear." White won in the category the past two years, including the most recent time Short was nominated.

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It was a great night for "Only Murders in the Building" all around. The show about a trio of true crime podcasters also scored an upset win for best ensemble in a comedy series. This was the first time "Only Murders" has received this prize, the SAG Awards' equivalent of best comedy series. The award went to "The Bear" in 2024, and in prior years, "Only Murders" lost to "Abbott Elementary" and "Ted Lasso."

Though both Short and Martin were absent, Selena Gomez was on hand to accept the award, and she was visibly shocked by the win.

"Wait, we never win," she said on stage. "This is so weird."

Gomez also jokingly roasted her co-stars, quipping, "Marty and Steve aren't here because, you know, they don't really care." After Richard Kind reminded Gomez to thank Short and Martin, she joked, "Thank you to Marty and Steve for helping raise me."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Martin Short wins surprise SAG Award: Why he missed the ceremony