SAG 2015: And the Winners are...
Here are the winners from the SAG Awards, including Birdman, Julianne Moore, Orange is the New Black, and William H. Macy for Shameless.
Another Sunday in January and another award show. Kidding aside, however, a SAG Award holds special prestige for its winner as it comes from the peers of every nominated member. As the general voice of actors (or their union) in Hollywood, the Screen Actors Guild is usually a better barometer than the Golden Globe or BAFTA for how the Academy will vote in acting categories, in no small part due to the ranks of actors that comprise Oscar’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
And judging from this winner list, Birdman is increasingly the biggest competitor for Boyhood in the Best Picture race, albeit ironically, not enough so to cement Michael Keaton as the frontrunner in his category of Best Actor. After all, tonight the SAG Award went to Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything. However, I’d suggest that just as Birdman winning ensemble is not a nail in Boyhood’s coffin, neither is Redmayne’s victory. The SAG voting body tends to go to the most showy ensemble and performance, whereas the Academy will have more non-actors that can split the difference for the more prevailing winds. In other words, while SAG is great for calling Colin Firth to win Best Actor for The King’s Speech in 2011 at the Oscar, it did not change that same movie’s momentum for winning Best Picture when SAG gave the ensemble prize to David O. Russell’s more actor-friendly The Fighter.
In any event, here are the nominees and winners of the 2015 vintage of the SAG Awards.
Best Ensemble:
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Best 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
Best Male Actor in a Leading Role
Steve Carell – Foxcatcher
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Best TV Drama Ensemble
Boardwalk Empire
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards
Best 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
Best 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
Best Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries
Ellen Burstyn – Flowers in the Attic
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Honorable Woman
Frances McDormand – Olive Kitteridge
Julia Roberts – The Normal Heart
Cicely Tyson – The Trip to Bountiful
Best Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries
Adrien Brody – Houdini
Benedict Cumberbatch – Sherlock: His Last Vow
Richard Jenkins – Olive Kitteridge
Mark Ruffalo – The Normal Heart
Billy Bob Thornton – Fargo
Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash
Best 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
Best Ensemble Comedy Series Cast
The Big Bang Theory
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Modern Family
Orange is the New Black
Veep
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Ty Burrell – Modern Family
Louis C.K. – Louie
William H. Macy – Shameless
Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory
Eric Stonestreet – Modern Family
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Uzo Aduba – Orange is the New Black
Julie Bowen – Modern Family
Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Veep
Amy Poehler – Parks and Recreation