‘American Hustle’ was among the films acknowledged by the Screen Actor’s Guild

The 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild nominations were announced yesterday.  The awards, which will be handed out on January 18, 2014, honor acting achievements of the past year in both screen and television as decided by members of the Screen Actors Guild.  Considered an important step on the awards season, the SAG Awards typically have a strong correlation to eventual Oscar nominations.  True to the nominating organization, the SAG Awards only honor performances, and instead of offering a Best Picture category, they honor the Best Acting Ensemble of the year.

This year, 12 Years a Slave topped the list with four nominations, including ensemble cast, leading actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and supporting actors Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong’o.   Three films tied with three nominations a piece – August: Osage County, Lee Daniels’ The Butler and most surprisingly, Dallas Buyers Club.   August: Osage County and Lee Daniels’ The Butler, both from the Weinstein Company, got big boosts from the SAG nominations, with three nods a piece including a nod for Ensemble Performance, noteworthy considering neither film has taken home any critics prizes so far and been fairly quiet on the season as a whole so far.  Dallas Buyers Club earned a surprising Ensemble Cast nomination, as did American Hustle, taking spots away from other august choices like The Wolf of Wall Street, Saving Mr. Banks, Her and Blue Jasmine.

The actors selected respective veterans such as Bruce Dern in Nebraska, Meryl Streep in August: Osage County and Emma Thompson in Saving Mr. Banks, as well as newcomers such as Nyong’o, whose 12 Years a Slave role marks her film debut and Barkhad Abdi, similarly in Captain Phillips.  While the 2013 awards season has already shown itself to be quite a competitive one, they’re were some surprising omissions on the SAG list as well, most notably Robert Redford being edged out of a Best Actor nomination for his critically lauded one man turn in All is Lost.

2013 SCREEN ACTORS GUILD NOMINATIONS

BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE

• 12 Years a Slave
• American Hustle
• August: Osage County
• Dallas Buyers Club
• Lee Daniels’ The Butler

BEST ACTOR

• Bruce Dern, Nebraska
• Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
• Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
• Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
• Forest Whitaker, Lee Daniels’ The Butler

BEST ACTRESS

• Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
• Sandra Bullock, Gravity
• Judi Dench, Philomena
• Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
• Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
• Daniel Bruhl, Rush
• Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
• James Gandolfini, Enough Said
• Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
• Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
• Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
• June Squibb, Nebraska
• Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels’ The Butler