“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to diverse TV,” Idris Elba joked on stage after winning twice at Saturday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, where actors of colour claimed a slew of wins.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson and the cast of Spotlight – all white actors – won the top three film awards of the night, but the rest mainly honoured diverse cast and roles.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to diverse TV

Elba, a black British actor, won two SAG awards: best supporting actor for playing a mercenary commander in Netflix’s West African war drama Beasts of No Nation; and best actor in a limited series for BBC’s crime drama Luther.

In the television categories, which featured far more diverse actors and roles, Netflix’s women’s prison show Orange is the New Black, won the best comedy series ensemble award for the second consecutive year.

Idris Elba holding the awards for outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role for his role in Beasts of No Nation and for outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or miniseries for his role in Luther. Photo: Mike Blake/Reuters

“Look at this stage,” cast member Laura Prepon said while accepting the award. They added: “This is what we talk about when we talk about diversity. Different race, colour, creed, sexual orientation.”

Queen Latifah won best actress in a TV miniseries for playing blues singer Bessie Smith in HBO’s Bessie, and Viola Davis won best drama actress for ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder.

Moreover, Jeffrey Tambor won best comedy series actor for playing Maura Pfefferman, an ageing wealthy transgender woman in Amazon’s Transparent.”

“I’d like to dedicate this award to the non-Maura Pfeffermans who don’t have a lot of cash for their operations, for their medicine, for their freedom,” he said.