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Long before SAG Awards, statuettes start out as molten metal

Jan 18, 2018 | 7:45 AM

BURBANK, Calif. — Dozens of television and film actors will win Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, yet no one knows precisely how many of the hefty statuettes will be handed out.

The show awards several large cast ensembles, including stunt performers, requiring a bounty of the green-black awards to be on hand. The process begins in a foundry in Burbank, California, where workers in protective suits pour molten bronze into casts to create the awards, known as The Actor.

The initial process takes about 15 minutes, but it takes weeks to assemble the scores of statuettes needed for the show, which is now in its 24th year and will air on TBS and TNT at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.

The prize’s weight, 12 pounds, is often remarked upon by winners.