(CNN) With the eyes of his peers on him, Alan Alda shed light on the craft of acting the way only a legend could while accepting his SAG Lifetime Achievement Award.
"When we get a chance to act, it's our job, at least in part, to get inside a character's head and to search for a way to see life from that person's point of view -- another person's vision of the world -- and to let an audience experience that," he said. "It may never have been more urgent to see the world through another person's eyes than when a culture is divided so sharply. Actors can help, just a little, by just doing what we do."
Alda said his award comes "at a time when I have had a chance to look back on my life."
In July, Alda, 83, revealed he has been living with Parkinson's disease. He was diagnosed three years prior.
Parkinson's disease is a "progressive disorder of the nervous system" that primarily affects a patient's movement, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The Academy Award-nominated actor, who was introduced with a moving tribute by Tom Hanks, is best known for his role as Army Capt. Hawkeye Pierce on the hit CBS series "M*A*S*H," which ran from 1972 to 1983.
"My wish for all of us is let's stay playful, let's have fun and let's keep searching," Alda added. "It can't solve everything, but it wouldn't hurt."