Trumbo leads SAG nominations
LOS ANGELES — The Hollywood blacklist drama Trumbo scored a leading three Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations on Wednesday, and sleeper contenders Beasts of No Nation and Straight Outta Compton entered the awards conversation in a real way when both were nominated for best ensemble drama.
Beasts of No Nation star Idris Elba was also nominated for best supporting actor, as well as for his role in TV’s Luther. Other best ensemble nominees included Spotlight, and The Big Short.
The nominations helped bring a murky awards season into a bit more focus, and SAG’s choices highlighted a few underdog performances.
Leading female performance nominees included Cate Blanchett (Carol), Brie Larson (Room) and Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn), all of whom have dominated awards buzz, but also Sarah Silverman (I Smile Back) and Helen Mirren (Woman in Gold). Mirren was also nominated for a supporting performance for Trumbo.
The lead actor nominees were more expected, with recognition for Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Johnny Depp (Black Mass), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), and Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl).
The Screen Actors Guild Awards honour the best film and television performances of the year and have traditionally served as a helpful indicator of potential Oscar acting nominees.
In a year when Hollywood’s lack of diversity has become of critical concern following last Oscar’s all-white acting slate, the individual performance nominees for movies remained largely monochromatic, save for Elba’s supporting nominations.
On the television side, the political drama House of Cards led with three nominations, including best drama ensemble, best male performance in a drama for Kevin Spacey and best female performance for Robin Wright.
There were more diverse individual nominees in television than film, though, thanks to nominations for Elba, Orange is the New Black’s Uzo Aduba and Viola Davis of How to Get Away With Murder.
The awards will be broadcast Jan. 30 on TNT and TBS.