The SAG Awards, the awards show without a “Best Picture” and “Best Director,” nominated The Help (film) 4 times over and Modern Family (TV) 5 times for its 18th annual outing (airing January 29th, 2012). Mary Tyler Moore, bajillion-time (really 6) Emmy Award winner and one-time Oscar nominee, will receive the Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild. Because it’s a more popular, bigger-name awards show, the SAG Awards usually skew toward the expected and often famous actors, films, TV shows. However, there are a few surprises of note.
Demián Bichir, who plays a father in East L.A. struggling with gangs, immigration, and providing for his son in the scantly seen A Better Life, knocked off more expected nominees like Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, and Gary Oldman for a spot on the 5-actor list. Armie Hammer and Jonah Hill,
supporting actors from more widely seen and well-known films like J. Edgar and Moneyball, made the list. Popcorn action flicks like Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Cowboys and Aliens assuredly made the “Stunt Ensemble” set, which also sports Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows – Part 2 and X-Men: First Class. Kathy Bates does double duty for her work in Woody Allen’s film Midnight in Paris and David E. Kelly’s TV series Harry’s Law.
As for the TV nominees, Patrick J. Adams (Suits) and Jessica Lange (American Horror Story) snuck into the “Drama Actor” spots. Betty White is nominated twice, once for Hot in Cleveland (assumed) and once for Hallmark Hall of Fame: The Lost Valentine (really?). But she’s having a renaissance and who am I to stand in her way? As expected, Modern Family dominated both “Actor in a Comedy Series” lists. Maybe just maybe, though, the SAG Awards can make up for the Emmys’ glaring choice to shut Steve Carell out from an Emmy after creating one of the most memorable comedic characters of all time. It’s really only a hope though. Seeing two-time defending champ for “Lead Actor – Comedy Series,” Jim Parsons, omitted from the list could be just what Carell needs.
Screen Actors Guild 48th Annual Life Achievement Award
Mary Tyler Moore
Film
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
- Demián Bichir – A Better Life as Carlos Galindo
- George Clooney – The Descendants as Matt King
- Leonardo DiCaprio – J. Edgar as J. Edgar Hoover
- Jean Dujardin – The Artist as George Valentin
- Brad Pitt – Moneyball as Billy Beane
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
- Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs as Albert Nobbs
- Viola Davis – The Help as Aibileen Clark
- Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady as Margaret Thatcher
- Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin as Eva Khatchadourian
- Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn as Marilyn Monroe
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
- Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn as Laurence Olivier
- Armie Hammer – J. Edgar as Clyde Tolson
- Jonah Hill – Moneyball as Peter Brand
- Nick Nolte – Warrior as Paddy Conlon
- Christopher Plummer – Beginners as Hal
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
- Bérénice Bejo – The Artist as Peppy Miller
- Jessica Chastain – The Help as Celia Foote
- Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids as Megan
- Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs as Hubert Page
- Octavia Spencer – The Help as Minny Jackson
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
- The Artist
Bérénice Bejo, James Cromwell, Jean Dujardin, John Goodman, and Penelope Ann Miller
- Bridesmaids
Rose Byrne, Jill Clayburgh, Ellie Kemper, Matt Lucas, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Chris O’Dowd, Maya Rudolph, and Kristen Wiig
- The Descendants
Beau Bridges, George Clooney, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, and Shailene Woodley
- The Help
Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Chris Lowell, Ahna O’Reilly, Sissy Spacek, Octavia Spencer, Mary Steenburgen, Emma Stone, Cicely Tyson, and Mike Vogel
- Midnight In Paris
Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, and Owen Wilson
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
- The Adjustment Bureau
- Cowboys & Aliens
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon
- X-Men: First Class
Television
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
- Laurence Fishburne – Thurgood as Thurgood Marshall
- Paul Giamatti – Too Big to Fail as Ben Bernanke
- Greg Kinnear – The Kennedys as John F. Kennedy
- Guy Pearce – Mildred Pierce as Monty Beragon
- James Woods – Too Big to Fail as Richard Fuld
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
- Diane Lane – Cinema Verite as Pat Loud
- Maggie Smith – Downton Abbey as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham
- Emily Watson – Appropriate Adult as Janet Leach
- Betty White – Hallmark Hall of Fame: The Lost Valentine as Caroline Thomas
- Kate Winslet – Mildred Pierce as Mildred Pierce
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
- Patrick J. Adams – Suits as Mike Ross
- Steve Buscemi – Boardwalk Empire as Nucky Thompson
- Kyle Chandler – Friday Night Lights as Eric Taylor
- Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad as Walter White
- Michael C. Hall – Dexter as Dexter Morgan
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
- Kathy Bates – Harry’s Law as Harriet “Harry” Korn
- Glenn Close – Damages as Patty Hewes
- Jessica Lange – American Horror Story as Constance
- Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife as Alicia Florrick
- Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer as Brenda Leigh Johnson
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
- Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock as Jack Donaghy
- Ty Burrell – Modern Family as Phil Dunphy
- Steve Carell – The Office as Michael Scott
- Jon Cryer – Two and a Half Men as Alan Harper
- Eric Stonestreet – Modern Family as Cameron Tucker
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
- Julie Bowen – Modern Family as Claire Dunphy
- Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie as Jackie Peyton
- Tina Fey – 30 Rock as Liz Lemon
- Sofia Vergara – Modern Family as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett
- Betty White – Hot in Cleveland as Elka Ostrovsky
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
- Boardwalk Empire
Steve Buscemi, Dominigue Chianese, Robert Clohessy, Dabney Coleman, Charlie Cox, Josie Gallina, Lucy Gallina, Stephen Graham, Jack Huston, Anthony Laciura, Heather Lind, Kelly MacDonald, Declan McTigue, Rory McTigue,Gretchen Mol, Brady Noon, Connor Noon, Kevin O’Rourke, Aleksa Palladino, Jacqueline Pennewill, Vincent Piazza, Michael Pitt, Michael Shannon, Paul Sparks, Michael Stuhlbarg, Peter Van Wagner, Shea Whigham, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Anatol Yusef
- Breaking Bad
Jonathan Banks, Betsy Brandt, Ray Campbell, Bryan Cranston, Giancarlo Esposito, Anna Gunn, RJ Mitte, Dean Norris, Bob Odenkirk and Aaron Paul
- Dexter
Billy Brown, Jennifer Carpenter, Josh Cooke, Aimee Garcia, Michael C. Hall, Colin Hanks, Desmond Harrington, Rya Kihlstedt, C.S. Lee, Edward James Olmos, James Remar, Lauren Vélez, and David Zayas
- Game of Thrones
Amrita Acharia, Mark Addy, Alfie Allen, Josef Altin, Sean Bean, Susan Brown, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Ron Donachie, Michelle Fairley, Jerome Flynn, Elyes Gabel, Aidan Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Iain Glen,Julian Glover, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Conleth Hill, Richard Madden, Jason Momoa, Rory McCann, Ian McElhinney, Luke McEwan, Roxanne McKee, Dar Salim, Mark Stanley, Donald Sumpter, Sophie Turner, and Maisie Williams
- The Good Wife
Christine Baranski, Josh Charles, Alan Cumming, Matt Czuchry, Julianna Margulies, Chris Noth, Archie Panjabi, Graham Phillips and Makenzie Vega
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
- 30 Rock
Scott Adsit, Alec Baldwin, Katrina Bowden, Kevin Brown, Grizz Chapman, Tina Fey, Judah Friedlander, Jane Krakowski, John Lutz, Jack McBrayer, Tracy Morgan, Maulik Pancholy, and Keith Powell
- The Big Bang Theory
Mayim Bialik, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Jim Parsons, and Melissa Rauch
- Glee
Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Darren Criss, Ashley Fink, Dot Marie Jones, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Heather Morris, Matthew Morrison, Mike O’Malley, Chord Overstreet, Lauren Potter, Amber Riley, Naya Rivera, Mark Salling, Harry Shum, Jr., Iqbal Theba, and Jenna Ushkowitz
- Modern Family
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Nolan Gould, Sarah Hyland, Ed O’Neill, Rico Rodriguez, Eric Stonestreet, Sofia Vergara, and Ariel Winter
- The Office
Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Creed Bratton, Steve Carell, Jenna Fischer, Kate Flannery, Ed Helms, Mindy Kaling, Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, John Krasinski, Paul Lieberstein, B.J. Novak, Oscar Nuñez, Craig Robinson,Phyllis Smith, Rainn Wilson and Zach Woods
Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
- Dexter
- Game of Thrones
- Southland
- Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
- True Blood