SAG Kicks off Award Season with Nomination Announcement

Screen Actors Guild Awards®

Judy Greer (“The Descendants”) and Regina King (“Southland”) were greeted with a mixture of anticipation and excitement when they approached the podium to announce the nominees for the 2012 Screen Actors Guild Awards.

“The Help” dominated as the #1 feature film nominee, with four nominations, while “The Artist” came in second with three nominations.

In TV, “Modern Family” emerged with an Ensemble nomination, and separate nominations for its actors: Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet.

The SAGs are held in very high esteem because the nominees are honored by their fellow peers. In other words, actors are nominated by actors.

Two nominating panels—one for television shows and one for films—each consisting of 2100 randomly-chosen Guild members from across the U.S.—selected this year’s actor and stunt ensemble nominees.

The nominees for each category are:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

DEMIÁN BICHIR / Carlos Galindo - “A BETTER LIFE”
GEORGE CLOONEY / Matt King - “THE DESCENDANTS”

LEONARDO DiCAPRIO / J. Edgar Hoover - “J. EDGAR”

JEAN DUJARDIN / George - “THE ARTIST”
BRAD PITT / Billy Beane - “MONEYBALL”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

GLENN CLOSE / Albert Nobbs - “ALBERT NOBBS”
VIOLA DAVIS / Aibileen Clark - “THE HELP”
MERYL STREEP / Margaret Thatcher - “THE IRON LADY”
TILDA SWINTON / Eva - “WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN”

MICHELLE WILLIAMS / Marilyn Monroe - “MY WEEK WITH MARILYN”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
KENNETH BRANAGH / Sir Laurence Olivier - “MY WEEK WITH MARILYN”

ARMIE HAMMER / Clyde Tolson - “J. EDGAR”
JONAH HILL / Peter Brand - “MONEYBALL”
NICK NOLTE / Paddy Conlon - “WARRIOR”
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER / Hal - “BEGINNERS”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

BÉRÉNICE BEJO / Peppy - “THE ARTIST” 

JESSICA CHASTAIN / Celia Foote - “THE HELP”
MELISSA McCARTHY / Megan - “BRIDESMAIDS”
JANET McTEER / Hubert Page - “ALBERT NOBBS”

OCTAVIA SPENCER / Minny Jackson - “THE HELP”

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

THE ARTIST
BRIDESMAIDS
THE DESCENDANTS

THE HELP
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

LAURENCE FISHBURNE / Thurgood Marshall - “THURGOOD”
PAUL GIAMATTI / Ben Bernanke - “TOO BIG TO FAIL”

GREG KINNEAR / Jack Kennedy - “THE KENNEDYS”
GUY PEARCE / Monty Beragon - “MILDRED PIERCE“

JAMES WOODS / Richard Fuld - “TOO BIG TO FAIL”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

DIANE LANE / Pat Loud - “CINEMA VERITE”
MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham - “DOWNTON ABBEY”
EMILY WATSON / Janet Leach - “APPROPRIATE ADULT”

BETTY WHITE / Caroline Thomas - “HALLMARK HALL OF FAME: THE LOST VALENTINE”
KATE WINSLET / Mildred Pierce - “MILDRED PIERCE”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

PATRICK J. ADAMS / Mike Ross - “SUITS”
STEVE BUSCEMI / Enoch “Nucky” Thomson - “BOARDWALK EMPIRE”
KYLE CHANDLER / Eric Taylor - “FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS”
BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White - “BREAKING BAD”
MICHAEL C. HALL / Dexter Morgan - “DEXTER”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

KATHY BATES / Harriet Korn - “HARRY’S LAW”
GLENN CLOSE / Patty Hewes - “DAMAGES”
JESSICA LANGE / Constance - “AMERICAN HORROR STORY”
JULIANNA MARGULIES / Alicia Florrick - “THE GOOD WIFE”
KYRA SEDGWICK / Dept. Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson - “THE CLOSER”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy - “30 ROCK”
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy - “MODERN FAMILY”
STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott - “THE OFFICE”
JON CRYER / Alan Harper - “TWO AND A HALF MEN”
ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron Tucker - “MODERN FAMILY”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy - “MODERN FAMILY”

EDIE FALCO / Jackie Peyton - “NURSE JACKIE”
TINA FEY / Liz Lemon - “30 ROCK”
SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria Delgado-Pritchett - “MODERN FAMILY”
BETTY WHITE / Elka Ostrovsky - “HOT IN CLEVELAND”

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
BOARDWALK EMPIRE
BREAKING BAD
DEXTER
GAME OF THRONES
THE GOOD WIFE

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
30 ROCK
THE BIG BANG THEORY
GLEE
MODERN FAMILY
THE OFFICE

The SAG nominations announcement is particularly significant this year because it precedes the Golden Globe nominations, which will be announced Thursday. In previous years, The SAG nominations followed the Globes by two days.

The 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be simulcast live nationally on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 5 p.m. (PT) from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center.