The members of the Screen Actors Guild gathered last night to pay tribute to that most noble of showbiz industry professions: acting as though you are genuinely happy for the success of others, while simultaneously acting as though you are not already exhausted by the endless procession of awards shows and their by-now predictable outcomes. It was a stellar performance all around, as presenters, winners, and patient, tuxedoed bystanders alike gamely turned in believable approximations of enthusiasm.
That was even true of the non-actors working behind the scenes—most notably the sound man, whose commitment to honoring chicanery in all its forms was announced with the fake applause track he prematurely piped in, before Reese Witherspoon could announce the Best Supporting Actor winner. “What’s that noise? It wasn’t me!” Witherspoon said, ever humble before the craft.
Other ostensibly real accolades were handed out to the acting ensemble of Birdman, whose victory was matched at the weekend’s other big industry event, the Producers Guild Awards. Given that the Producers Guild is more often than not a predictor for the Best Picture winner at the Oscars, and the fact that Birdman has now dominated two of three of the major Guilds (with the Directors Guild Awards scheduled for Feb. 7), there seems to be a major last-minute boost for the film’s chances among the Academy. Or perhaps these wins will prove to be Birdman’s own premature applause track. That’s the purported fun of awards season!
In the Best Actor race, after all, it still seems to be a question of whether it will go to Michael Keaton or The Theory Of Everything’s Eddie Redmayne, and it was the latter who took home Best Actor at the SAG Awards. In fact, the only apparent locks at this point would seem to be J.K. Simmons, Patricia Arquette, and Julianne Moore, who all added to their respective hauls last night. If you wanted any surprises beyond the norm, you’d have to look to the award for Best Stunt Ensemble, which finally gave Unbroken something to put on its DVD cover.
Or you could look to television: While Kevin Spacey repeated his Golden Globes win for Best Actor In A TV Drama, the rest of the categories were full of upsets—most notably Orange Is The New Black finally ending Modern Family’s three-year winning streak to take home Best Ensemble In, Let’s Just Call It A Comedy Series, and that show’s Uzo “Crazy Eyes” Aduba also winning Best Actress over category mainstays like Julie Bowen and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
The Producers Guild agreed by giving Orange its biggest award for TV comedy, though it differed when it came to drama, with nods for Fargo and (in what may be its final hurrah) Breaking Bad as the best Long-Form and Drama series, respectively. When it came to acting, at least, the Screen Actors preferred Downton Abbey, while it also recognized How To Get Away With Murder’s Viola Davis, Shameless’ William H. Macy, The Normal Heart’s Mark Ruffalo, and Olive Kitteridge’s Frances McDormand.
The complete lists of Screen Actors and Producers Guild Awards nominees are below, with winners in bold, and fake applause inserted randomly.
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD
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 an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire
Downton Abbey
Game Of Thrones
Homeland
House Of Cards
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 an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
The Big Bang Theory
Modern Family
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Orange Is The New Black
Veep
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Louis CK, Louie
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 Aduba, Orange Is The New Black
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Poehler, Parks And Recreation
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Adrien Brody, Houdini
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock
Richard Jenkins, Olive Kitteridge
Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart
Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television 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
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series
24: Live Another Day
Boardwalk Empire
Game Of Thrones
Homeland
Sons of Anarchy
The Walking Dead
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
PRODUCERS GUILD
The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Nightcrawler
The Theory Of Everything
Whiplash
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
Big Hero 6
The Book Of Life
The Boxtrolls
How To Train Your Dragon 2
The LEGO Movie
The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television
American Horror Story: Freak Show
Fargo
The Normal Heart
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
Sherlock
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures
The Green Prince
Life Itself
Merchants Of Doubt
Particle Fever
Virunga
The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game Of Thrones
House Of Cards
True Detective
The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy
The Big Bang Theory
Louie
Modern Family
Orange Is The New Black
Veep
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television
30 For 30
American Masters
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey
Shark Tank
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television
The Amazing Race
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef
The Voice
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television
The Colbert Report
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Real Time With Bill Maher
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
The Award for Outstanding Sports Program
24/7
Hard Knocks: Training Camp With The Atlanta Falcons
Hard Knocks: Training Camp With The Cincinnati Bengals
Inside: U.S. Soccer’s March To Brazil
Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel
The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program
Dora The Explorer
Sesame Street
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Toy Story OF TERROR!
Wynton Marsalis: A YoungArts Masterclass
The Award for Outstanding Digital Series
30 For 30 Shorts
Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee
COSMOS: A National Geographic Deeper Dive
Epic Rap Battles Of History
Video Game High School Season 3