American actor Laurence Fishburne and Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada will both be receiving special tribute and honorary awards at this year’s 52nd Annual Saturn Awards. The awards ceremony will place Sunday, February 2,2025 at The Hilton Universal City Hotel. The two actors highlighted here have already garnered many other awards and nominations during their careers.
Laurence Fishburne
Lawrence Fishburne has won five Emmy Awards and one Tony Award, in addition to being nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe. He will be granted the second ever Lance Reddick Legacy Award at the 52nd Saturn Awards. The inaugural award was presented to Keanu Reeves last year. Fishburne is one of the few actors to appear in both the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) and the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). He played Daily Planet editor Perry White in Man of Steel (2013) and in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). He played Dr. Bill Foster, aka Black Goliath in Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) and will reprise the role in Thunderbolts.
Hiroyuki Sanada
The “Robert Forster Artist’s Award will be presented to Sanada. This award honors an actor for their body of work and impact on the industry in memory of the Academy late, Saturn Award Favorite, Robert Forster. Previously this award has gone to Christopher Lloyd and Seth MacFarlane., Sanada has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Japan Academy Film Prize, two Hochi Film Awards, a Mainichi Film Award, three Blue Ribbon Awards for Best Actor, four Kinema Junpo Awards, and honors from the Yokohama Film Festival. In 2018, he received the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon from the Japanese government for his “artistic developments, improvements, and accomplishments. Sanada played Akihiko in Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Other SF/F/H Roles for Fishburne and Sanada
Fishburne and Sanada both have long, respected careers, with many Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror roles as well as many mundane roles.
Laurence Fishburne
- Cutter in Death Wish II (1982)
- Max Daniels in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
- Morpheus in the Matrix franchise
- narrator in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2997)
- Captain Miller in Event Horizon (1997)
- voice of the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
- Noland in Predators (2010)
- Dr. Ellis Cheever in Contagion (2011)
- Perry White in Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
- Gus Mancuso in Passengers (2016)
- the Bowery King in John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum (2019), and John Wick Chapter 4 (2023)
- School Master in The School for Good and Evil (2022)
- Alpha Trion in Transformers One (2024)
- Captain Franks in Slingshot (2024)
- The Beyonder in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (he was also executive producer & co-creator)
- Bill Foster in Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Thunderbolts, and What If
- Fundi Romaine in Megalopolis (2024)
Hiroyuki Shanada
- Shimazu in John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
- Bly Tanaka in Army of the Dead (2021)
- Shingen Yashida in The Wolverine (2013)
- Captain Takehaya in The Last Ship
- Musashi in Westworld
- Akihiko in Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Scorpion in Mortal Kombat (2021)
- Sho Murakami in Life (2017)
How You Can Watch the Saturn Awards
The 52nd Annual Saturn Awards will be live-streamed for FREE on both The Roku Channel and Electric Entertainment’s premium OTT app and FAST channel, ElectricNOW. The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films will be presenting the 52nd Annual Saturn Awards Sunday, February 2, 2025.
Susan Macdonald is the author of the children's book "R is for Renaissance Faire", as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in "Alternative Truths", "Swords and Sorceress #30", Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, "Cat Tails" "Under Western Stars", and "Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid". Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio's web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions, Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.
