The SAG Awards were not the Golden Globes. It only looked that way.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Reese Witherspoon and Rachel Weisz all repeated their Globe wins at the SAGs, signaling that either Tuesday's Oscar nominations are going to be more of the same, or major departures.
Hoffman was honored as Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role for playing author Truman Capote in Capote. Witherspoon was honored as Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role for playing June Carter in Walk the Line. The pregnant Weisz, growing bigger in girth with each awards show, was named Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role for the thriller The Constant Gardener.
Paul Giamatti, sporting his best mad-scientist hair and letting a four-letter word slip during his ode to the craft service table (it was deleted from the TNT/TBS broadcast), took the SAG for Outstanding Male Actor in a Supporting Role for Cinderella Man. Giamatti's triumph prevented George Clooney, a winner at the Globes for Syriana, from making like Hoffman, Witherspoon and Weisz.
In the other film category, the cast of Crash was honored as Best Ensemble.
Brokeback Mountain, which has dominated Hollywood's season of giving, came away empty-handed, which was not so much a snub as a reminder that the film's strongest Oscar contender is the film itself, along with director Ang Lee. Brokeback stars Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams, collectively, have scored lots of nominations but few awards.
Brokeback was not forgotten entirely, though, at the SAGs. Will & Grace's Sean Hayes, named Outstanding Male Actor in a Comedy Series, thanked Lee for "taking a chance on me," and patted himself on the back for having the courage to play a gay character. He was kidding, he said.
Unlike the film categories, SAG's TV categories weren't grafted from the Globes--well, not entirely. Globe-winning stars Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy), Paul Newman (Empire Falls) and S. Epatha Merkerson (Lackawanna Blues) were SAG winners, too. (And. as at the Globes, the 80-year-old Newman was a no-show.) Lost and Desperate Housewives, which were named Best Drama and Comedy Series, respectively, at the Globes, were honored for their ensemble casts at the SAGs.
But 24's Kiefer Sutherland, named Outstanding Male Actor in a Drama Series, prevented House's Hugh Laurie from making another acceptance speech. And Desperate Housewives' Felicity Huffman, tapped Outstanding Female Actor in a Comedy Series, kept Weeds' Mary-Louise Parker from the winner's circle.
Elsewhere, Dakota Fanning and Jamie Lee Curtis paid tribute to the career and namesake non-alcoholic drink of Life Achievement Award recipient Shirley Temple Black, likely leaving Mickey Rooney, who was the biggest star in all the world in the late 1930s, to Temple's early 1930s run, and who also has a non-alcoholic drink named after him, wondering when his turn was coming.
Temple, 77, took a moment to catch her breath during her acceptance speech. "I haven't been down here in a while," said the retired actress, who last appeared in a movie in the 1940s. "This is exciting."
Here's a complete look at the winners of the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards:
Motion Pictures Male Actor in a Leading Role: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote Female Actor in a Leading Role: Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener Cast: Crash
TV Male Actor in a Drama Series: Kiefer Sutherland, 24 Female Actor in a Drama Series: Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy Male Actor in a Comedy Series: Sean Hayes, Will & Grace Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Felicity Huffman, Desperate Housewives Ensemble in a Drama Series: Lost Ensemble in a Comedy Series: Desperate Housewives Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: Paul Newman, Empire Falls Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: S. Epatha Merkerson, Lackawanna Blues
Life Achievement Award Shirley Temple Black