It was back to the bold and beautiful at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild awards, following the almost universal black dress code deployed at the recent Golden Globes.

The red carpet was awash with colourful outfits -- Photo: EPA

But that didn't mean female empowerment was off the agenda.

Kristen Bell became the first host of the ceremony - that's the first host full-stop, not just female - while the huge majority of presenters were women.

And Nicole Kidman, 50, was lauded for her impassioned speech about roles for older women.

"How wonderful it is that our careers today can go beyond 40 years old," she said, close to tears.

"Twenty years ago we were pretty washed up by this stage in our lives.

"That's not the case anymore. We've proven... that we are potent and powerful and viable. I just beg that the industry stays behind us as our stories are finally being told."

She added: "It's only the beginning."

But the Big Little Lies actress wasn't the only one left weepy by the occasion.

British star Gary Oldman was visibly moved as he collected his best actor nomination for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour.

"I've become emotional," he explained as he took to the podium.

"I am so deeply, deeply honoured."

Morgan Freeman's speech, thanking the guild for his lifetime achievement honour, will probably be best remembered for his reaction to someone in the audience apparently chatting away just as he had begun to speak.

"Hey ... I'm talking to you. Yeah, hey," he said, looking directly at the unidentified culprit.

"You just stand out to me. That's all," he added, before continuing with the rest of his speech.

We were intimidated just watching it. Note to self - never, ever, interrupt Morgan.

Glow star Alison Brie found herself in an unenviable position on the red carpet after she was asked about the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against her brother-in-law and SAG nominee James Franco.

She told E! News: "I think that above all what we've always said is it remains vital that anyone that feels victimised should and does have the right to speak out and come forward.

"I obviously support my family. Not everything that has been reported is fully accurate, so I think we're waiting to get all the information.

"But of course now is the time for listening and that's what we're all trying to do."

This Is Us star Sterling K Brown became the first black actor to win the SAG award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama.

He joked: "To my white family [the This is Us cast], which is thankfully nothing like the family from Get Out, I love you," - referring to the recent horror film in which things go awry when a black man visits his white girlfriend's family for the first time.

Another record-breaker was Julia Louis Dreyfus - she made history when she became the first TV actress to win five individual SAG awards by winning the outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series for her role in Veep.

But sadly, Julia couldn't make it to the ceremony after undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.

She did manage to compose an amusing tweet for the occasion though.

Source: BBC