LOS ANGELES-Everybody likes surprises. The 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations announcement came with a bang at the Pacific Design Center with a few new wrinkles and a couple of surprise picks. With the awards season in full thrust, the Screen Actors Guild Awards made some noise with their choice picks in the annual peer contest.
The nominations announcement made public by actors Anna Faris (Mom, House Bunny) and Anthony Mackie ((Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Hurt Locker) on Wednesday, Dec. 9, blended the safe with the unpredictable. One had to figure Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs), Christian Bale (The Big Shot) Helen Mirren (Woman in Gold) and Kevin Spacey (House of Cards) would get a nod as a result of their performances from their respective projects.
Then came the announcement that raised more than a couple of eyebrows.
The 22nd Screen Actors Guild Awards, scheduled to be televised on Jan. 30, 2016 on both TNT and TBS, is where tradition meets up with the new, bold and daring. The nominations across the board reflect that type of diversity.
One of those surprises just happens to be “Straight Outta of Compton,” the gritty, in-your-face biopic about the rise of legendary rap group, N.W. A. (Niggaz With Attitude). The $28 million budgeted film blew by critics and made over $200 million worldwide and became the unexpected hit film of the summer.
Now, thanks to the Screen Actors Guild, it is considered to be one of the best movies of the year (Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture).
“I was really happy to see some surprises like Sarah Silverman (Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role/I Smile Back, Broad Green Pictures) getting love,” said actor Jason George. “I love me some Sarah Silverman, but I think everybody’s happy relating to her getting love in the dramatic turn…But for me, personally, Idris (Elba) is going to get his props ( Beasts of No Nation, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role) because he’s a beast and he’s the truth.
“But ‘Straight Outta Compton’ gets the nod for me. It’s a big fist-pump because some of those guys are Julliard-trained, some of them are discoveries. I know some of those guys. But if you’re going to play one of the most iconic rap groups of all-time, you just can’t be four guys who just happen to be on the stage at the same time. You’ve got to pull it together. They all rose to the occasion together. My brother and I saw it with our cousin, and my brother is an actor as well. That may be my favorite biopic. It was at that level.”
The surprise George spoke about was whether or not people would see a film like “Straight Outta Compton” as worthy of consideration.
“It wasn’t so much of a surprise,” George said. “I knew that they had the work; the level of work was the quality that could be nominated. The question is was people going to recognize it? Would people recognize it and give it love? And when they did that-that was the part I was elated about. So I don’t know surprise is the right word. People are paying attention. Films don’t happen in a vacum. We’re in a country where people are paying attention to what’s happening with social justice. So when that film comes out…people are saying this is a conversation that we were having in the 80s and 90s, and we’re still having it in 2015.”
SAG Awards Committee Chair JoBeth Williams about the voting process and how the organization is always looking at ways to not be afraid to embrace the new and different.
“We have over the years tried as much as we can to be diverse in our choices. That of course, is up the voters who are SAG-Afra members,” Williams said. “It depends on the year of what is being sent out to them, what movies, what TV shows are available to them to see. Sometimes not every movie is finished in time for the nominating committee to see it, and so it gets left out. That did not happen this year. We’ve adjusted our rules slightly…We’re doing everything we can to get as many as our great movies and television shows available to our voters. I think it shows. It shows in our nominations.”
Mackie chimed in with his thoughts and said the voting process is reflective of what the future will look like.
“The wonderful thing I think happened this morning is that you see a lot of actors that have been around for awhile, but you also see a lot of new names, so I feel like we’re rolling into the new demographic of what SAG is going to look like in the coming years,” said Mackie. “It’s really exciting to see young actors giving performances that are worthy of recognition.”
22nd ANNUAL SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS® NOMINATIONS
THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
BRYAN CRANSTON / Dalton Trumbo – “TRUMBO” (Bleecker Street) JOHNNY DEPP / James “Whitey” Bulger – “BLACK MASS” (Warner Bros. Pictures) LEONARDO DiCAPRIO / Hugh Glass – “THE REVENANT” (20th Century Fox) MICHAEL FASSBENDER / Steve Jobs – “STEVE JOBS” (Universal Pictures) EDDIE REDMAYNE / Einar Wegener/Lili Elbe – “THE DANISH GIRL” (Focus Features)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
CATE BLANCHETT / Carol Aird – “CAROL” (The Weinstein Company) BRIE LARSON / Ma – “ROOM” (A24) HELEN MIRREN / Maria Altmann – “WOMAN IN GOLD” (The Weinstein Company) SAOIRSE RONAN / Eilis – “BROOKLYN” (Fox Searchlight Pictures) SARAH SILVERMAN / Laney Brooks – “I SMILE BACK” (Broad Green Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
CHRISTIAN BALE / Michael Burry – “THE BIG SHORT” (Paramount Pictures) IDRIS ELBA / Commandant – “BEASTS OF NO NATION” (Netflix) MARK RYLANCE / Abel Rudolph – “BRIDGE OF SPIES” (DreamWorks) MICHAEL SHANNON / Rick Carver – “99 HOMES” (Broad Green Pictures) JACOB TREMBLAY / Jack – “ROOM” (A24)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
ROONEY MARA / Therese Belivet – “CAROL” (The Weinstein Company) RACHEL McADAMS / Sacha Pfeiffer – “SPOTLIGHT” (Open Road Films) HELEN MIRREN / Hedda Hopper – “TRUMBO” (Bleecker Street) ALICIA VIKANDER / Gerda Wegener – “THE DANISH GIRL” (Focus Features) KATE WINSLET / Joanna Hoffman – “STEVE JOBS” (Universal Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
BEASTS OF NO NATION (Netflix) ABRAHAM ATTAH / Agu KURT EGYIAWAN / 2nd I-C IDRIS ELBA / Commandant THE BIG SHORT (Paramount Pictures) CHRISTIAN BALE / Michael Burry STEVE CARELL / Mark Baum RYAN GOSLING / Jared Vennett MELISSA LEO / Georgia Hale HAMISH LINKLATER / Porter Collins JOHN MAGARO / Charlie Geller BRAD PITT / Ben Rickert RAFE SPALL / Danny Moses JEREMY STRONG / Vinny Peters MARISA TOMEI / Cynthia Baum FINN WITTROCK / Jamie Shipley SPOTLIGHT (Open Road Films) BILLY CRUDUP / Eric MacLeish BRIAN D’ARCY JAMES / Matty Carroll MICHAEL KEATON / Walter “Robby” Robinson RACHEL McADAMS / Sacha Pfeiffer MARK RUFFALO / Michael Rezendes LIEV SCHREIBER / Marty Baron JOHN SLATTERY / Ben Bradlee, Jr. STANLEY TUCCI / Mitchell Garabedian STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (Universal Pictures) NEIL BROWN JR. / DJ Yella PAUL GIAMATTI / Jerry Heller COREY HAWKINS / Dr. Dre ALDIS HODGE / MC Ren O’SHEA JACKSON JR. / Ice Cube JASON MITCHELL / Eazy-E TRUMBO (Bleecker Street) ADEWALE AKINNUOYE-AGBAJE / Virgil Brooks LOUIS C.K. / Arlen Hird BRYAN CRANSTON / Dalton Trumbo DAVID JAMES ELLIOTT / John Wayne ELLE FANNING / Niki Trumbo JOHN GOODMAN / Frank King DIANE LANE / Cleo Trumbo HELEN MIRREN / Hedda Hopper MICHAEL STUHLBARG / Edward G. Robinson ALAN TUDYK / Ian McLellan Hunter
TELEVISION PROGRAMS
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
IDRIS ELBA / DCI John Luther – “LUTHER” (BBC America) BEN KINGSLEY / Grand Vizier Ay – “TUT” (Spike) RAY LIOTTA / Lorca/Tom Mitchell – “TEXAS RISING” (History) BILL MURRAY / Himself – “A VERY MURRAY CHRISTMAS” (Netflix) MARK RYLANCE / Thomas Cromwell – “WOLF HALL” (Masterpiece/PBS)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
NICOLE KIDMAN / Grace – “GRACE OF MONACO” (Lifetime) QUEEN LATIFAH / Bessie Smith – “BESSIE” (HBO) CHRISTINA RICCI / Lizzie Borden – “THE LIZZIE BORDEN CHRONICLES” (Lifetime) SUSAN SARANDON / Gladys Mortenson – “THE SECRET LIFE OF MARILYN MONROE” (Lifetime) KRISTEN WIIG / Delores DeWinter – “THE SPOILS BEFORE DYING” (IFC)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
PETER DINKLAGE / Tyrion Lannister – “GAME OF THRONES” (HBO) JON HAMM / Don Draper – “MAD MEN” (AMC) RAMI MALEK / Elliot – “MR. ROBOT” (USA Network) BOB ODENKIRK / Jimmy McGill – “BETTER CALL SAUL” (AMC) KEVIN SPACEY / Francis Underwood – “HOUSE OF CARDS” (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
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) MAGGIE SMITH / Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham – “DOWNTON ABBEY” (Masterpiece/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 Networks) WILLIAM H. MACY / Frank – “SHAMELESS” (Showtime) JIM PARSONS / Sheldon Cooper – “THE BIG BANG THEORY” (CBS) JEFFREY TAMBOR / Maura Pfefferman – “TRANSPARENT” (Amazon)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
UZO ADUBA / Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren – “ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK” (Netflix) EDIE FALCO / Jackie Peyton – “NURSE JACKIE” (Showtime) ELLIE KEMPER / Kimmy Schmidt – “UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT” (Netflix) JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / President Selina Meyer – “VEEP” (HBO) AMY POEHLER / Leslie Knope – “PARKS AND RECREATION” (NBC)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
DOWNTON ABBEY (Masterpiece/PBS) HUGH BONNEVILLE / Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham LAURA CARMICHAEL / Lady Edith Crawley JIM CARTER / Charles Carson RAQUEL CASSIDY / Baxter BRENDAN COYLE / John Bates TOM CULLEN / Anthony Gillingham MICHELLE DOCKERY / Lady Mary Crawley KEVIN DOYLE / Joseph Molesley JOANNE FROGGATT / Anna Bates LILY JAMES / Lady Rose MacClare ROBERT JAMES-COLLIER / Thomas Barrow ALLEN LEECH / Tom Branson PHYLLIS LOGAN / Mrs. Hughes ELIZABETH McGOVERN / Cora, Countess of Grantham SOPHIE McSHERA / Daisy Mason LESLEY NICOL / Mrs. Patmore JULIAN OVENDEN / Charles Blake DAVID ROBB / Dr. Clarkson MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham PENELOPE WILTON / Isobel Crawley GAME OF THRONES (HBO) ALFIE ALLEN / Theon Greyjoy IAN BEATTIE / Ser Meryn Trant JOHN BRADLEY / Samwell Tarly GWENDOLINE CHRISTIE / Brienne EMILIA CLARKE / Daenerys Targaryen MICHAEL CONDRON / Bowen Marsh NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU / Jaime Lannister BEN CROMPTON / Dolorous Edd LIAM CUNNINGHAM / Ser Davos Seaworth STEPHEN DILLANE / Stannis Baratheon PETER DINKLAGE / Tyrion Lannister NATHALIE EMMANUEL / Missandei TARA FITZGERALD / Selyse Baratheon JEROME FLYNN / Bronn BRIAN FORTUNE / Othell Yarwyck JOEL FRY / Hizdahr Zo Loraq AIDAN GILLEN / Littlefinger Petyr Baelish IAIN GLEN / Jorah Mormont KIT HARINGTON / Jon Snow LENA HEADEY / Cersei Lannister MICHIEL HUISMAN / Daario Naharis HANNAH MURRAY / Gilly BRENOCK O’CONNOR / Olly DANIEL PORTMAN / Podrick Payne IWAN RHEON / Ramsay Snow OWEN TEALE / Ser Alliser Thorne SOPHIE TURNER / Sansa Stark CARICE VAN HOUTEN / Melisandre MAISIE WILLIAMS / Arya Stark TOM WLASCHIHA / Jaqen H’ghar HOMELAND (Showtime) F. MURRAY ABRAHAM / Dar Adal ATHEER ADEL / Numan CLAIRE DANES / Carrie Mathison ALEXANDER FEHLING / Jonas Hollander RUPERT FRIEND / Peter Quinn NINA HOSS / Astrid RENÉ IFRAH / Bibi MARK IVANIR / Ivan Krupin SEBASTIAN KOCH / Otto D?ring MIRANDA OTTO / Allison Carr MANDY PATINKIN / Saul Berenson SARAH SOKOLOVIC / Laura Sutton HOUSE OF CARDS (Netflix) MAHERSHALA ALI / Remy Danton DEREK CECIL / Seth Grayson NATHAN DARROW / Edward Meechum MICHAEL KELLY / Doug Stamper ELIZABETH MARVEL / Heather Dunbar MOLLY PARKER / Jackie Sharp JIMMI SIMPSON / Gavin Orsay KEVIN SPACEY / Francis Underwood PAUL SPARKS / Thomas Yates ROBIN WRIGHT / Claire Underwood MAD MEN (AMC) SOLA BAMIS / Shirley STEPHANIE DRAKE / Meredith JAY R. FERGUSON / Stan Rizzo BRUCE GREENWOOD / Richard Burghoff JON HAMM / Don Draper CHRISTINA HENDRICKS / Joan Harris JANUARY JONES / Betty Francis VINCENT KARTHEISER / Pete Campbell ELISABETH MOSS / Peggy Olson KEVIN RAHM / Ted Chaough KIERNAN SHIPKA / Sally Draper JOHN SLATTERY / Roger Sterling RICH SOMMER / Harry Crane AARON STATON / Ken Cosgrove MASON VALE COTTON / Bobby Draper
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
THE BIG BANG THEORY (CBS) MAYIM BIALIK / Amy Farrah Fowler KALEY CUOCO / Penny JOHNNY GALECKI / Leonard Hofstadter SIMON HELBERG / Howard Wolowitz KUNAL NAYYAR / Rajesh Koothrappali JIM PARSONS / Sheldon Cooper MELISSA RAUCH / Bernadette Rostenkowski-Wolowitz KEY & PEELE (Comedy Central) KEEGAN-MICHAEL KEY / Various Characters JORDAN PEELE / Various Characters MODERN FAMILY (ABC) JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy AUBREY ANDERSON EMMONS / Lily Tucker-Pritchett JESSE TYLER FERGUSON / Mitchell Pritchett NOLAN GOULD / Luke Dunphy SARAH HYLAND / Haley Dunphy ED O’NEILL / Jay Pritchett RICO RODRIGUEZ / Manny Delgado ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron Tucker SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria Delgado-Pritchett ARIEL WINTER / Alex Dunphy ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (Netflix) UZO ADUBA / Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren MIKE BIRBIGLIA / Danny Pearson MARSHA STEPHANIE BLAKE / Berdie Rogers DANIELLE BROOKS / Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson LAVERNE COX / Sophia Burset JACKIE CRUZ / Marisol “Flaca” Gonzales CATHERINE CURTIN / Wanda Bell LEA DELARIA / Carrie “Big Boo” Black BETH FOWLER / Sister Jane Ingalls JOEL MARSH GARLAND / Scott O’Neill KIMIKO GLENN / Brook Soso ANNIE GOLDEN / Norma Romano DIANE GUERRERO / Maritza Ramos MICHAEL J. HARNEY / Sam Healy VICKY JEUDY / Janae Watson SELENIS LEYVA / Gloria Mendoza TARYN MANNING / Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett ADRIENNE C. MOORE / Cindy Hayes KATE MULGREW / Galina “Red” Reznikov EMMA MYLES / Leanne Taylor MATT PETERS / Joel Luschek LORI PETTY / Lolly Whitehill JESSICA PIMENTEL / Maria Ruiz DASCHA POLANCO / Dayanara Diaz LAURA PREPON / Alex Vause ELIZABETH RODRIGUEZ / Aleida Diaz RUBY ROSE / Stella Carlin NICK SANDOW / Joe Caputo ABIGAIL SAVAGE / Gina Murphy TAYLOR SCHILLING / Piper Chapman CONSTANCE SHULMAN / Yoga Jones DALE SOULES / Frieda YAEL STONE / Lorna Morello SAMIRA WILEY / Poussey Washington TRANSPARENT (Amazon) ALEXANDRA BILLINGS / Davina Rejennae CARRIE BROWNSTEIN / Syd Feldman JAY DUPLASS / Josh Pfefferman KATHRYN HAHN / Raquel Fein GABY HOFFMANN / Ali Pfefferman CHERRY JONES / Leslie Mackinaw AMY LANDECKER / Sarah Pfefferman JUDITH LIGHT / Shelly Pfefferman HARI NEF / Gittel/Gerson EMILY ROBINSON / Rose Boymelgreen JEFFREY TAMBOR / Maura Pfefferman VEEP (HBO) DIEDRICH BADER / Bill Ericsson SUFE BRADSHAW / Sue Wilson ANNA CHLUMSKY / Amy Brookheimer GARY COLE / Kent Davidson KEVIN DUNN / Ben Cafferty TONY HALE / Gary Walsh HUGH LAURIE / Tom James JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / President Selina Meyer PHIL REEVES / Doyle SAM RICHARDSON / Richard REID SCOTT / Dan Egan TIMOTHY SIMONS / Jonah Ryan SARAH SUTHERLAND / Catherine MATT WALSH / Mike McLintock
SAG AWARDS® HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
“EVEREST” (Universal Pictures) “FURIOUS 7” (Universal Pictures) “JURASSIC WORLD” (Universal Pictures) “MAD MAX: FURY ROAD” (Warner Bros. Pictures) “MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION” (Paramount Pictures) Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series “THE BLACKLIST” (NBC) “GAME OF THRONES” (HBO) “HOMELAND” (Showtime) “MARVEL’S DAREDEVIL” (Netflix) “THE WALKING DEAD” (AMC)
LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
52nd Annual SAG Life Achievement Award
CAROL BURNETT
Dennis is the editor and publisher of News4usonline. He covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, racial and social justice, civil rights, and HBCUs. Dennis earned a journalism degree from “The Mecca” aka Howard University. “I write on what I am passionate about.”