The 21st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations were revealed today, and – perhaps predictably – a film that elicits sympathy for big screen Hollywood actors earned the most accolades. Birdman, starring Michael Keaton as a former superhero actor trying to prove himself in New York’s theatre community, received four nominations, for Best Actor (Keaton), Best Supporting Actor (Edward Norton), Best Supporting Actress (Emma Stone) and Best Ensemble Cast.
Oscar prognosticators are looking closely at the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominees, since they are the first voting body to announce their contenders who actually include members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, who of course also nominate films for the Academy Awards. But that doesn’t mean that the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations offer clear predictions for who will eventually be nominated for Oscars. Last year, only 14 of SAG’s 20 individual acting nominations also received Oscar noms, meaning there’s still plenty of room for other contenders to make headway during the awards season rush.
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The snubs are many, including a total shut-out for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic Selma, which may have screened too late for most SAG members to have seen it, and is expected to still be a serious contender at the Oscars. Other notable snubs include Josh Brolin for Inherent Vice, Ralph Fiennes for The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain for A Most Violent Year.
It’s worth noting that the Screen Actors Guild Awards only nominate actors and actresses who are actually members of SAG, but the Oscars make no such distinction. So certain lauded performances, like Agata Kulesza in the Polish drama Ida – who is currently raking in accolades from various critics societies – would be ineligible here even if she had support from the voting body.
The biggest surprise among the actual nominees is certainly Robert Duvall, nominated for his supporting performance in The Judge, a film that is currently “rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes – CraveOnline even went so far as to call it “one of the worst movies of the year” – and was expected by many to be out of the awards season race entirely.
The complete list of Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations for motion pictures are below. The 21st Annual SAG Awards winners will be revealed on Sunday, January 25th.
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A 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
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 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
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
