Once again, Screen Actors Guild voters have proved their loyalty to actors they’ve nominated time and again. Witness repeat nominations for SAG favorites including Steve Buscemi and “Boardwalk Empire,” Claire Danes and “Homeland,” “Nurse Jackie’s” Edie Falco and “Modern Family,” which garnered an ensemble nom and bids for Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet and Julie Bowen.
At least SAG voters acknowledged Netflix‘s “Orange Is the New Black” (pictured), after ignoring it last time around. SAG also heaped love on Netflix’s other big show, “House of Cards,” giving it first-time noms in the drama field and in the best actress category for Robin Wright, as well as a nom for star Kevin Spacey for the second year running. Indeed, Netflix is already the big winner today.
Along with a nod for “OITNB’s” Uzo Aduba, the otherwise predictable list did offer up a few welcome surprises, including an acting bid for “Orphan Black’s” Tatiana Maslany, delighting the Twittersphere.
Pity Amazon’s critically praised “Transparent,” ignored by SAG, though the guild has always been slow to embrace new series. One of the only nods for a new show went to Viola Davis, for her role on ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder.” But even SAG couldn’t ignore the thesping heft on “True Detective.”
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With “Breaking Bad’s” Bryan Cranston out of the way for the first time in years, SAG found room to nom both “True Detective” stars Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey. The absence of Jon Hamm for “Mad Men” seems a surprise — the show was shut out entirely for the second year in a row.
Julianna Margulies (“The Good Wife”) earned a much-deserved nom, after being snubbed in the last go-round and after taking the Emmy home earlier this year. The highly competitive best actress category was expanded to six due to a tie — but that still meant two of last year’s nominees, “Scandal” star Kerry Washington and “American Horror Story” thesp Jessica Lange, fell off the list even as stalwart Maggie Smith held on for “Downton Abbey.”
The casts of Showtime’s “Masters of Sex” and “The Affair” were shut out entirely.
On the comedy side, the absence of “30 Rock” made room for some new names. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” earned a surprising nod for ensemble — something that has always eluded co-creator Mike Schur’s critical favorite “Parks and Recreation.” And with her 21st nomination, Falco (“Nurse Jackie”) became the most nominated performer in SAG Awards history.
Falco’s fellow Showtime actor William H. Macy picked up a nom for “Shameless,” the dramedy’s first ever recognition at SAG. Like “OITNB,” “Shameless” switched from drama to comedy contention this year.
The TV movie/miniseries actor list was incredibly competitive, with nominees Benedict Cumberbatch (“Sherlock”) and Mark Ruffalo (“The Normal Heart”) also earning noms in the feature actor race — while Cumberbatch’s co-star, Martin Freeman, was shut out for his work in both “Sherlock” and FX’s “Fargo.” Yet Adrien Brody was acknowledged for “Houdini,” which has gotten little attention.
