ACTORS’ ACTORS
THE Screen Actors Guild Awards are relatively new, but after 13 years certain voting trends have become clear. The voters often foreshadow Oscar winners on the film side, and they tend to rubber-stamp past Emmy champs in the TV races, so actors performing in new series have trouble breaking through. Snubbed in the 2008 nominations were the stars of “Pushing Daisies,” “Californication” and “The Riches.” All 120,000 guild members decide winners from these nominees, which were chosen by film and TV teams of 2,100 voters.
MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”
Ryan Gosling, “Lars and the Real Girl”
Emile Hirsch, “Into the Wild”
Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises”
FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Julie Christie, “Away From Her”
Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”
Angelina Jolie, “A Mighty Heart”
Ellen Page, “Juno”
SPOTLIGHT: George Clooney won four SAG ensemble acting awards when he was on “ER,” but never a solo trophy. Do his guild colleagues secretly regard him as a swashbuckling matinee star instead of a serious actor? Portraying a corrupt lawyer who finds his soul in “Michael Clayton,” Clooney may finally get a winning verdict from this jury of his peers.
MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”
Hal Holbrook, “Into the Wild”
Tommy Lee Jones, “No Country for Old Men”
Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton”
FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”
Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”
Catherine Keener, “Into the Wild”
Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”
Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton”
SPOTLIGHT: Amy Ryan pulled off a rare romp through the early critics’ awards, then landed a Golden Globe nom. If she’s really an awards juggernaut that can’t be stopped as Oscars near, she’ll prove her strength here.
CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
“3:10 to Yuma”
“American Gangster”
“Hairspray”
“Into the Wild”
“No Country for Old Men”
SPOTLIGHT: SAG’s ensemble award acquired a reputation of being a forecaster of best picture at the Academy Awards when “Crash’s” guild victory foreshadowed its Oscar upset after it was snubbed in the top Golden Globe races. In reality, the winner of the ensemble award has prevailed on Oscar night only five times in 12 years, but with so many best-picture front-runners being shut out of the guild’s ensemble category (“Atonement,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Sweeney Todd”), this award could demonstrate its clairvoyant power if one of the long-shot nominees (“3:10 to Yuma,” “Hairspray,” “Into the Wild”) claims both prizes.
MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
James Gandolfini, “The Sopranos”
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Hugh Laurie, “House”
James Spader, “Boston Legal”
FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Glenn Close, “Damages”
Edie Falco, “The Sopranos”
Sally Field, “Brothers & Sisters”
Holly Hunter, “Saving Grace”
Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer”
SPOTLIGHT: Sally Field has won two Oscars, two Golden Globes and three Emmys, but has lost all five of her SAG bids. She wasn’t even nominated last year for “Brothers & Sisters,” but this year she may be an irresistible choice considering how much actors like stars who really put on a show -- even at a podium. At the recent Emmys, Field gave a bravura turn when telecast producers censored her rant (“If mothers ruled the world, we wouldn’t have any . . . wars!”), a dramatic follow up to her infamous “you like me” speech at the 1985 Oscars.
MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
Steve Carell, “The Office”
Ricky Gervais, “Extras”
Jeremy Piven, “Entourage”
Tony Shalhoub, “Monk”
FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate, “Samantha Who?”
America Ferrera, “Ugly Betty”
Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
Mary-Louise Parker, “Weeds”
Vanessa Williams, “Ugly Betty”
SPOTLIGHT: Many actors insist that there is no such thing as a supporting role -- all players should be considered lead -- so SAG combines those categories in the TV races, but, curiously, not on the film side. Presumably, stars with the most screen time would have an edge, but not in the comedy races where supporting actors have won 12 of 26 contests, usually for grandstanding roles (“Will & Grace’s” Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally are multiple champs). This year the diva to beat may be Vanessa Williams, so good as a monstrously evil boss on “Ugly Betty.”
ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
“Boston Legal”
“The Closer”
“Grey’s Anatomy”
“Mad Men”
“The Sopranos”
ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
“30 Rock”
“Desperate Housewives”
“Entourage”
“The Office”
“Ugly Betty”
SPOTLIGHT: Nothing gets SAG voters’ hearts racing like medical shows. “ER” won four times in a row (1995-1998). They also like to give out two consecutive trophies in this category (“The West Wing,” “Six Feet Under”), so the docs of “Grey’s Anatomy,” who won last year, may have another victory all sewn up.
MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Michael Keaton, “The Company”
Kevin Kline, “As You Like It”
Oliver Platt, “The Bronx Is Burning”
Sam Shepard, “Ruffian”
John Turturro, “The Bronx Is Burning”
FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Ellen Burstyn, “For One More Day”
Queen Latifah, “Life Support”
Debra Messing, “The Starter Wife”
Anna Paquin, “Bury My Heart at
Wounded Knee”
Vanessa Redgrave, “The Fever”
Gena Rowlands, “What If God Were the Sun?”
SPOTLIGHT: Workaday actors pretend not to be smitten by celebrity or to have a preference for film over TV, but the truth can be found in SAG’s TV movie/miniseries races where notable film stars often win, just like they do at the Emmys. Both awards tend to favor HBO, which should boost the chances of Queen Latifah (“Life Support”), who’s also had a successful TV career. Her drawback may be her age (37). Nearly all winners have been over 40.
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Tune in
The 14th Annual SAG Awards will be held Jan. 27 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and will be telecast live at 5 p.m. on TNT and TBS.