Dame Helen Mirren and Idris Elba Score Multiple Nominations At The Screen Actors Guild Awards

The Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) nominations have been announced today and it is a new, upcoming bunch that seem to have come up trumps…

Suddenly we have the first major guild race of the year, and new distributor Bleecker Street’s TRUMBO is leading with three nominations overall. And among the other relative newbies in the SAG Theatrical Motion Picture nominee game this year, Broad Green, A24, Open Road and Netflix all got two nominations each for their entries.

Despite the success of the indie films in the nomination department, Paramount’s late entry THE BIG SHORT and Universal’s STEVE JOBS and STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON ARE all worthy contenders. 

The nominations will be exciting news for Dame Helen Mirren who is nominated for Best Actress in THE WOMAN IN GOLD in which she plays real-life Jewish World War Two survivor Maria Altmann, who fought the Austrian government over Gustav Klimt paintings stolen from her family. She will compete against Saoirse Ronan for BROOKLYN, Sarah Silverman for I SMILE BACK, Brie Larson for ROOM and Cate Blanchett for CAROL.

Dame Helen is also nominated for Best Supporting Actress and as an ensemble cast member for TRUMBO, about the real life Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo.

In the best supporting actress category, she is recognised alongside Rooney Mara for CAROL, Rachel McAdams for SPOTLIGHT, Alicia Vikander for THE DANISH GIRL and fellow Brit Kate Winslet in STEVE JOBS.

Idris Elba has also come up trumps after being nominated for BEASTS OF NO NATION and BBC drama LUTHER.  Elba is up for his ensemble cast nomination for BEASTS OF NO NATION, and has also received a Best Supporting Actor nod for his part as the charismatic but ruthless Commandant in the film, who keeps his young recruits in his thrall in the African warfare picture. 

There are more Brits battling for the win alongside Elba: Mark Rylance in BRIDGE OF SPIES and Christian Bale for THE BIG SHORT, alongside Michael Shannon in 99 HOMES and nine-year-old Jacob Tremblay for ROOM.

Elba’s other nomination is for his starring role in Luther, recognised in the TV movie/miniseries category.

Eddie Redmayne, last year’s SAG best actor winner, has been nominated again for his performance as transgender pioneer Lili Elbe in THE DANISH GIRL.

As Redmayne knows very well, the awards are often seen as key indicators for the Oscars and for the past 10 years, the winner of the Best Actor category has gone on to triumph at the Academy Awards.

If Redmayne was to triumph, he would be the first actor to win twice in a row since Tom Hanks in 1994 and 1995.

Redmayne is nominated alongside Michael Fassbender for STEVE JOBS, Leonardo DiCaprio for THE REVENANT, Bryan Cranston for TRUMBO, and Johnny Depp for BLACK MASS.

TRUMBO, THE BIG SHORT, SPOTLIGHT, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON and BEASTS OF NO NATION are all nominated at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for their ensemble cast performances.

Of course, the SAG Awards honour more than just films – in the television categories ITV’s DOWNTON ABBEY received two nominations – Best Ensemble Drama Series and Best Actress for Dame Maggie Smith for her role as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham.

The Best Ensemble Drama category features GAME OF THRONES, DOWNTON ABBEY, HOMELAND, MAD MEN and HOUSE OF CARDS.

Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright were both recognised for their individual performances in HOUSE OF CARDS, with Jon Hamm also receiving a nod for his role in the last series of MAD MEN. 

The Best Ensemble Comedy category saw THE BIG BANG THEORY, MODERN FAMILY, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, TRANSPARENT, VEEP and KEY & PEELE nominated.

The SAG awards honour the year’s top achievements in film and television and are voted for by more than 100,000 actors. 

The winners at the Screen Actors Guild Awards will be announced at a televised ceremony in Los Angeles on 30th January, 2016.

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