SAG Awards 2014: Dern, Hanks, Ejiofor among actor nominees
Though Bruce Dern has been in the movie business for over half a century, heâs only been to one glitzy award show.
The 77-year-old attended the Academy Awards in 1979 -- back, he jokes, âwhen there were covered wagonsâ -- after earning a nomination for his supporting role in Hal Ashbyâs âComing Home.â
That will change come January, when Dern will walk the red carpet outside the Shrine Auditorium at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. On Wednesday, he was one of five men nominated in the leading actor category for his turn in âNebraska,â in which he portrays an elderly curmudgeon convinced heâs won a $1-million sweepstakes.
Dern will be competing against Matthew McConaughey, seen as a man battling AIDS in âDallas Buyers Clubâ; Forest Whitaker, who played the White Houseâs head servant in âThe Butlerâ; Tom Hanks, who took on the role of a seaman kidnapped by Somali pirates in âCaptain Phillipsâ; and Chiwetel Ejifor, who portrayed a free Northerner-turned-Southern slave in â12 Years a Slave.â
SAG Awards 2014: Complete list of nominees
Speaking from his bed in Pasadena early Wednesday morning, Dern said he was thrilled to be recognized for his work after appearing in more than 80 films.
âIt appears to me that some folks are getting together and saying, âYou know what? Bruce Dern can play,â â the actor said. âIâve done this a long time, and it finally seems theyâre seeing Iâve got game. Iâm not sure they didnât recognize it before, but certainly not at the level they are now.â
The recent flurry of attention surrounding his âNebraskaâ performance is already benefitting his career, Dern said. He said heâs been shown scripts that ânever would have been sent my wayâ six months ago.
âI guess they werenât ready for Brucey from Winnetka, and now theyâre a little more ready,â he said.
So it wasnât already obvious: No, he isnât looking to retire from acting anytime soon.
âFirst of all, what the hell would I do?â he said with a chuckle. âI gamble on sports a little bit, but I canât make a life doing that, nor can I take the risk doing that.â
ALSO:
SAG nominations 2014: Nominee reactions
SAG Award nominations: â12 Years a Slave,â âButlerâ lead the way
SAG Awards: â12 Years a Slave,â âAmerican Hustleâ among cast nominees
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