The nominations for the 21 annual Screen Actors Guild Awards have just been announced, with Birdman leading the way, earning all four of its possible nominations out of the five film categories. Boyhood, The Imitation Game, and The Theory of Everything followed right behind with three.
As usual, there were plenty of surprises to be had. In the supporting categories, it was a slight shock seeing Meryl Streep make the cut for Into the Woods after not having gotten very much buzz for the role thus far, but then again, awards groups have always loved Streep, so it wasn’t something that was entirely unexpected. The nominee that was completely unexpected, however, was Naomi Watts for St. Vincent, taking a spot that was thought to belong to Jessica Chastain for A Most Violent Year or perhaps Laura Dern for Wild.
Looking at the nominations in the lead categories, we find a few more somewhat unanticipated results, including Jennifer Aniston nabbing the fifth spot for her performance in Cake over what was expected to be Marion Cotillard, who has seen several victories in the category so far this year. For Best Actor, it’s not particularly shocking to see that Steve Carell made the cut, but as I noted in my predictions, it seemed as though the buzz for his performance had died down. Most surprising of all is finding Jake Gyllenhaal among the nominees for his creepy, yet outstanding, performance in Nightcrawler over such contenders as David Oyelowo (Selma) and Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner).
Finally, we had a couple more surprises in the biggest category, Best Performance by a Cast of a Motion Picture. The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything managed to sneak their way into the category despite only having two standout performances each, beating out the much larger casts of Into the Woods and Selma.
As you probably already know, this category has historically contained the film that will eventually go on to win Best Picture at the Oscars, with the exception being the first year they were given, so it’s pretty safe to say that one of these five films (Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, and The Theory of Everything) will be taking the top prize next year.
The winners will be announced on January 25, 2015 at 8 pm (EST).
Tomorrow morning sees yet another huge awards announcement as the Golden Globe nominations are announced at 8 am (EST), so be sure to check back in to see the results. For now, however, please see below for a complete list of today’s nominees:
Theatrical Motion Pictures
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
STEVE CARELL / John du Pont – “FOXCATCHER” (Sony Pictures Classics)
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH / Alan Turing – “THE IMITATION GAME” (The Weinstein Company)
JAKE GYLLENHAAL / Louis Bloom – “NIGHTCRAWLER” (Open Road Films)
MICHAEL KEATON / Riggan – “BIRDMAN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
EDDIE REDMAYNE / Stephen Hawking – “THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING” (Focus Features)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
JENNIFER ANISTON / Claire Bennett – “CAKE” (Cinelou Films)
FELICITY JONES / Jane Hawking – “THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING” (Focus Features)
JULIANNE MOORE / Alice Howland-Jones – “STILL ALICE” (Sony Pictures Classics)
ROSAMUND PIKE / Amy Dunne – “GONE GIRL” (20th Century Fox)
REESE WITHERSPOON / Cheryl Strayed – “WILD” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
ROBERT DUVALL / Joseph Palmer – “THE JUDGE” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
ETHAN HAWKE / Mason, Sr. – “BOYHOOD” (IFC Films)
EDWARD NORTON / Mike – “BIRDMAN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
MARK RUFFALO / Dave Schultz – “FOXCATCHER” (Sony Pictures Classics)
J.K. SIMMONS / Fletcher – “WHIPLASH” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
PATRICIA ARQUETTE / Olivia – “BOYHOOD” (IFC Films)
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY / Joan Clarke – “THE IMITATION GAME” (The Weinstein Company)
EMMA STONE / Sam – “BIRDMAN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
MERYL STREEP / The Witch – “INTO THE WOODS” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
NAOMI WATTS / Daka – “ST. VINCENT” (The Weinstein Company)
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
“Birdman”
“Boyhood”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”
“The Theory of Everything”
Television Programs
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
ADRIEN BRODY / Harry Houdini – “HOUDINI” (History)
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH / Sherlock Holmes – “SHERLOCK: HIS LAST VOW” (PBS)
RICHARD JENKINS / Henry Kitteridge – “OLIVE KITTERIDGE” (HBO)
MARK RUFFALO / Ned Weeks – “THE NORMAL HEART” (HBO)
BILLY BOB THORNTON / Lorne Malvo – “FARGO” (FX)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
ELLEN BURSTYN / Olivia Foxworth – “FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC” (Lifetime)
MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL / Nessa Stein – “THE HONORABLE WOMAN” (Sundance TV)
FRANCES McDORMAND / Olive Kitteridge – “OLIVE KITTERIDGE” (HBO)
JULIA ROBERTS / Dr. Emma Brookner – “THE NORMAL HEART” (HBO)
CICELY TYSON / Carrie Watts – “THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL” (Lifetime)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
STEVE BUSCEMI / Enoch “Nucky” Thompson – “BOARDWALK EMPIRE” (HBO)
PETER DINKLAGE / Tyrion Lannister – “GAME OF THRONES” (HBO)
WOODY HARRELSON / Martin Hart – “TRUE DETECTIVE” (HBO)
MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY / Rust Cohle – “TRUE DETECTIVE” (HBO)
KEVIN SPACEY / Francis Underwood – “HOUSE OF CARDS” (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series (6 nominees)
CLAIRE DANES / Carrie Mathison – “HOMELAND” (Showtime)
VIOLA DAVIS / Annalise Keating – “HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER” (ABC)
JULIANNA MARGULIES / Alicia Florrick – “THE GOOD WIFE” (CBS)
TATIANA MASLANY / Sarah/Coxima/Alison/Rachel/ – “ORPHAN BLACK” (BBC America)
Helena/Tony/Jennifer and Various Others
MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham – “DOWNTON ABBEY” (PBS)
ROBIN WRIGHT / Claire Underwood – “HOUSE OF CARDS” (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY ” (ABC)
LOUIS C.K. / Louie – “LOUIE” (FX)
WILLIAM H. MACY / Frank Gallagher – “SHAMELESS” (Showtime)
JIM PARSONS / Sheldon Cooper – “THE BIG BANG THEORY” (CBS)
ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron Tucker – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
UZO ADUBA / Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren – “ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK” (Netflix)
JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
EDIE FALCO / Jackie Peyton – “NURSE JACKIE” (Showtime)
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / Vice President Selina Meyer – “VEEP” (HBO)
AMY POEHLER / Leslie Knope – “PARKS AND RECREATION” (NBC)
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
“The Big-Bang Theory”
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”
“Modern Family”
“Orange is the New Black”
“Veep”
SAG AWARDS® HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
“FURY” (Columbia Pictures)
“GET ON UP” (Universal Pictures)
“THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
“UNBROKEN” (Universal Pictures)
“X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST” (20th Century Fox)
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series (6 nominees)
“24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY” (FOX)
“BOARDWALK EMPIRE” (HBO)
“GAME OF THRONES” (HBO)
“HOMELAND” (Showtime)
“SONS OF ANARCHY” (FX)
“THE WALKING DEAD” (AMC)
LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Screen Actors Guild 51st Annual Life Achievement Award
DEBBIE REYNOLDS