Birdman and Modern Family dominate SAG Award nominations

Posted on 11 December 2014
By Craig Kell
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Birdman and Modern Family are the leading contenders in film and television at next year’s Screen Actor’s Guild Award ceremony.

Starting with the film categories, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s dark comedy leads the way with four nominations including Best Ensemble.
Michael Keaton is up for Best Actor and is joined by his co-stars Edward Norton in Best Supporting Actor and Emma Stone in Best Supporting Actress.

Competing with Birdman in Best Ensemble is the epic family drama Boyhood, the war comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel and British biopics The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything.

Keaton faces stern competition in his category from Brit actors Benedict Cumberbatch (Imitation Game) and Eddie Redmayne (Theory of Everything) while Steve Carrell (Foxcatcher) and Jake Gyllenhaal Nightcrawler) are both nodded for their dark performances.

The British continue their dominance in the Best Actress group with Felicity Jones (Theory of Everything) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) up against Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Reese Witherspoon (Wild) and surprise nominee Jennifer Aniston (Cake).

In Supporting Actor, Norton faces a tough challenge in overcoming early favourite J.K Simmons (Whiplash) with the line-up completed by Robert Duvall (The Judge), Ethan Hawke (Boyhood) and Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher).

Finally, the Best Supporting Actress category sees Stone up against Keira Knightley (Imitation Game) as well as Patricia Arquette (Boyhood), Meryl Streep (Into the Woods) and shock nominee Naomi Watts (St Vincent).

The full list of SAG film nominations are below:

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Steve Carrell – Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jennifer Aniston – Cake
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods
Naomi Watts – St Vincent

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything

OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY A STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Fury
Get on Up
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Unbroken
X-Men: Days of Future Past

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The television nominations saw Modern Family receive a favourable four mentions including Best Comedy Ensemble as well as acting nods for Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet and Julie Bowen.

The much-loved series is competing with other hit shows like The Big Bang Theory, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Orange is the New Black and Veep.

Jim Parsons (Big Bang), Louis C.K (Louis), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep) and Amy Poehler (Parks and Recs) are other eye-catching nominees up for the acting awards.

On the drama side, HBO’s Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire go head-to-head in the Best Drama Ensemble category along with Downton Abbey, Homeland and House of Cards.

True Detective duo Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson go up against Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) and Kevin Spacey (House of Cards) in a strong Best Actor line-up.

Six women are battling it out for Best Drama Actress with Homeland’s Claire Danes and Downton Abbey’s Dame Maggie Smith up against the likes of Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder), Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife) and Robin Wright (House of Cards).

Finally, the Television Movie / Mini-Series nominees include mentions in both film and TV categories for Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock: The Last Vow) and Mark Ruffalo (The Normal Heart). The latter’s co-star Julia Roberts is also recognised in Lead Actress.

Billy Bob Thornton (Fargo), Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Honourable Woman) and Frances McDormand (Olive Ketteridge) are amongst the other strong group of performers in contention for awards glory.

The full list of television nominees are below:

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Steve Buscemi – Boardwalk Empire
Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones
Woody Harrelson – True Detective
Matthew McConaughey – True Detective
Kevin Spacey – House of Cards

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Claire Danes – Homeland
Viola Davis – How To Get Away With Murder
Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife
Tatiana Maslany – Orphan Black
Maggie Smith – Downton Abbey
Robin Wright – House of Cards

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ty Burrell – Modern Family
Louis C.K. – Louis
William H. Macy – Shameless
Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory
Eric Stonestreet – Modern Family

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Uzo Odob, Orange is the New Black
Julie Bowen – Modern Family
Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie
Julia Louis-Dreyfuss – Veep
Amy Phoehler – Parks and Recreation

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
Boardwalk Empire
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
Big Bang Theory
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Modern Family
Orange is the New Black
Veep

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES
Adrien Brody – Houdini
Benedict Cumberbatch – Sherlock: His Last Vow
Richard Jenkins – Olive Ketteridge
Mark Ruffalo – The Normal Heart
Billy Bob Thornton – Fargo

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES
Ellen Burstyn – Flowers in the Attic
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Honourable Woman
Frances McDormand – Olive Ketteridge
Julia Roberts – The Normal Heart
Cicely Tyson – The Trip to Bountiful

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY / DRAMA SERIES
24: Live Another Day
Boardwalk Empire
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Sons of Anarchy
The Walking Dead

The SAG award winners will be announced at the star-studded ceremony which takes place on January 25th 2014.

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