Tomorrow evening, anyone who is anyone in Hollywood will gather at the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards to watch actors give other actors awards.
And you too can watch actors give other actors awards! The show airs at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on TNT and TBS. Before the winners are announced, here are our predictions on who should win each award, as well as who will win:
Male Actor, Lead
Who Should WIn: Chiwetel Ejiofor for 12 Years a Slave
Who Will Win: Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club
The ultimate upset would be if Tom Hanks won. Everyone—actors included—loves Tom Hanks. But his impressive turn in Captain Phillips will be overshadowed by buzzier movies. Transformative roles are gangbusters with other actors (McConaughey lost some 50 pounds for the part), which is why he'll win over the (arguably) more deserving Ejiofor.
Male Actor, Supporting:
Who Should WIn: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club
Who Will Win: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club
There's always one category per awards season that's a lock. This is it. He won the Golden Globe, he won the Critics' Choice Award, he will win the SAG Award and—spoiler alert!—Jared Leto will win the Oscar too.
Female Actor, Lead
Who Should Win: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine
Who Will Win: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine
This is a surprisingly close category—there are a lot of wild cards in play. But not so much for the SAG Awards. At the Oscars, it really could go to Sandra Bullock or Meryl Streep or Amy Adams. Here, Cate's peers will pick her for her captivating, no-holds-barred turn in Blue Jasmine. (P.S. We can't stop thinking about Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine.)
Female Actor, Supporting
Who Should Win: Lupita Nyong'o for 12 Years a Slave
Who Will Win: Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle
Though there is a chance that the person who should win this one will win it, especially since it's other actors—who can appreciate Lupita's emotionally impactful work—voting. But we still think Everyone's Best Friend Jennifer Lawrence will win. Which isn't so bad. Hey, everybody likes watching Jennifer Lawrence win.
Cast in a Motion Picture
Who Should Win: 12 Years a Slave
Who Will Win: American Hustle
Another close race: In any other year, you might expect the award to go to August: Osage County (Meryl Streep! Julia Roberts! What more do you need?). It won't. It should go to 12 Years a Slave, which featured moving performances by newcomers and established actors alike. But it will ultimately go to American Hustle, with all those flashy performances by all those A-listers.
Male Actor, Drama Series
Who Should Win: Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad
Who Will Win: Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad
And we'll predict the 2015 SAG Awards too: Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad.
Female Actor, Drama Series
Who Should Win: Kerry Washington for Scandal
Who Will Win: Anna Gunn for Breaking Bad
Who better to finally acknowledge the indomitable Kerry Washington than her peers? Plus, every awards show needs an upset. But we think Anna Gunn will not only beat out Ms. Washington, but also last year's winner Claire Danes and the equally deserving Jessica Lange to take home the trophy. (Side note: How effing weird is it that Lange is nominated for Coven before the season is even over?)
Male Actor, Comedy Series
Who Should Win: Jason Batemen for Arrested Development
Who Will Win: Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock
Baldwin has won this award every year since 2006. So yeah. We bet he'll take it again this year. The good news (at least for the other candidates)? This is the last year he will be nominated for 30 Rock. Then someone like Bateman, who seamlessly (and hilarious) returned to his Arrested role, have a shot at winning.
Female Actor, Comedy Series
Who Should Win: Tina Fey for 30 Rock
Who Will Win: Julia Louis-Dreyfus for Veep
OK, this one takes a bit of explanation. Julia probably should win the award based on talent alone, but it would be nice if Tina Fey won one last time for work on 30 Rock (this is the last year she'll be eligible). But Julia absolutely murders her role on Veep, so "nice" is looking more like "unrealistic" and Ms. Louis-Dreyfus will win it.
Ensembles: Breaking Bad will take Drama (deservingly so) and Modern Family will win Comedy (even though they should not).
(Originally published Dec. 11, 2013, at 12:23 p.m. PT as "Instant Predictions.")