Passionately loving award shows as a lifelong commitment, caring about each category, knowing its nominees, winners, and victory speeches… it's all a pretty gay thing to do, isn't it? "It is a very gay thing," Jon Brockett laughs, agreeing with Out's hard-hitting question while fielding "about a thousand texts an hour" in the thick of final preparations for the 32nd Annual Actor Awards. But that's how you know that a gay man is in charge of running a fabulous live show to honor the best performances of the year — as voted by Hollywood actors themselves, honey!
Besides being the first year for the newly renamed Actor Awards — formerly known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards, or SAG Awards — Brockett is the ceremony's first-ever showrunner. Meanwhile, it's Netflix's second year broadcasting the awards show to a global audience, and gay icon Kristen Bell is returning to host the ceremony for the second year in a row.
"It's just that time of year," Brockett says. "The show's cyclical, so I know going into this period what it's going to be like. And it's exciting. It's always really fun."
Fun, of course, but also a massive undertaking. As showrunner, Brockett touches every aspect of the production year-round, from development and creative, to talent booking and liaison duties between SAG-AFTRA, Silent House, and Netflix. "This is not a seasonal gig for me," he explains. "This is a year-round, executive producing, showrunner gig for me, overseeing the show."
Connor Storrie, François Arnaud, Hudson Williams, and Jon Brockett at 'The Actors Night Hosted by The Actor Awards & Elle'Todd Williamson/Shutterstock for The Actor Awards
Brockett's history with the formerly named SAG Awards stretches beyond his first searchable credit on the show in 2010. "I started out as an assistant to the executive producer when I was just a young pup," he recalls. "One of the things that I really like about this show, and early on what I really liked about it, was it's a relatively small team. And so I was able to get my fingers really into everything."
Since then, Brockett climbed through every producer title within the awards show, all the way to the very top of this 2026 edition. The biggest headline for this year's ceremony is the rebrand from the SAG Awards to the Actor Awards. The partnership with Netflix accelerated the timeline of a conversation that, Brocket explains, has been years in the making — dating back to the merger between the actor unions SAG and AFTRA over a decade ago.
"People understanding who we are from the jump, there's an instant recognition in the Actor Awards: it says exactly who we are in the title," Brockett remarks. "The name of the statuette is the Actor. We are exclusively about actors. We only honor actors. We're the biggest night in television for actors."
The new name feels even more resonant in 2026, as AI-generated performers are released in the wild and attempt to blur the lines between human artistry and algorithmic replication. More than a rebrand, the Actor Awards feel like a declaration that this is an evening about celebrating real, breathing, lived-in human beings. Real people who spent years grinding, who nearly gave up, who had nothing before something broke through. Algorithms can't fabricate those journeys. Bots can't accept those awards.
Brockett sees that connection very clearly and is proud to discuss it. "A lot of what you hear in our speeches is people, the winners, talking not only to other actors, but really to anyone who has a dream," he reflects. "A lot of their stories involve, 'I was just about to move back home,' or 'I was this close to giving up on my dream.' And then something happened, and then another thing happened, and that led to another thing. It really is about making dreams come true."
Jon BrockettRob Latour/Shutterstock for The Actor Awards
As actors fight for their craft and against the AI-fication of an industry, the LGBTQ+ community is also fighting for its identities, history, and visibility. That parallel isn't lost on Brockett, who grew up as a theater kid in Tallahassee, Florida, which wasn't exactly ideal for a young queer person to navigate in the 1980s and 1990s.
"Growing up in a small town when I did, it was not always a safe space," he recalls. "College football was king, and I definitely felt like the other."
Those experiences shaped not only the showrunner's commitment to representation on the Actor Awards, but beyond the ceremony as well. Namely, Brockett serves on the board of Open Books, a nonprofit that provides LGBTQ-affirming booksets to public libraries. "One of the things that I used as an escape as a young child were books," he says. "The second that a person has a direct connection to someone who's queer, there is a humanity to that. 'OK, well, you're my neighbor. You're my friend. You're my work colleague. And you are also queer? OK, then I can begin to understand you a little bit better.'"
"The more people that live their lives authentically, the less people may be afraid," he adds.
Kristen Bell for the 32nd Actor AwardsNetflix
What's it like to work with Bell as she returns to host the 2026 Actor Awards? "A freaking dream," Brockett gushes. "She's a triple threat, so why not just sort of lean into that?"
Well, the show will feature a house band for the first time, a redesigned set rooted in early Art Deco, and a first-ever fashion theme created in partnership with Elle magazine. Category is… reimagining Old Hollywood glamour from the 1920s and 1930s through a modern lens. How's that for leaning in?
When asked if he's feeling any pressure to act as the ceremony's first showrunner, Brockett is clear-minded. "My goal, my focus, is to just make the best show possible," he replies. "One of the great things about our show is the familial aspect of everybody in that room. They all know each other. It's like being in a family reunion every year."
With a new name, a glow-up for the gods, and a gay showrunner who knows a thing or two about working hard and living as his authentic self, the 2026 Actor Awards feel like the start of a new era — one that is more personal and urgent than ever.
The 32nd Annual Actor Awards are streaming live this Sunday, March 1, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Netflix.
