“Birdman” will carry a leading four film nominations into Sunday’s presentation of the 21st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, while four-time comedy ensemble winner “Modern Family” leads the television pack with four nods.
Golden Globe winner Michael Keaton is nominated for his lead role in “Birdman,” starring as Riggan, an actor who once played a superhero in blockbuster films but is now struggling to revive his career. Castmates Edward Norton, playing a Broadway star, and Emma Stone, as Riggan’s daughter, are nominated for their supporting roles.
“Birdman” is also up for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture, the SAG equivalent of a best picture Oscar.
The other nominees in the category are Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood”; Wes Anderson’s period adventure “The Grand Budapest Hotel”; “The Imitation Game,” about English mathematician and World War II code breaker Alan Turing; and “The Theory of Everything,” which tells the story of legendary physicist Stephen Hawking.
Vying with Keaton for the outstanding actor honor are Steve Carell (“Foxcatcher”), Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Imitation Game”), Jake Gyllenhaal (“Nightcrawler”) and Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”).
Oscar favorite Julianne Moore is nominated for outstanding actress for her work as a woman coping with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis in “Still Alice.” She will compete with Jennifer Aniston (“Cake”), Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything”), Rosamund Pike (“Gone Girl”) and Reese Witherspoon, who also produced her star turn as a woman who hikes 1,100 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail in “Wild.”
Norton is joined in the supporting actor category by Robert Duvall for his role in “The Judge,” Mark Ruffalo as Olympic wrestler and coach Dave Schultz in “Foxcatcher,” Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood” and J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash.”
Up for supporting actress are Patricia Arquette for “Boyhood,” Keira Knightley for “The Imitation Game,” Meryl Streep for the musical “Into The Woods,” Naomi Watts for “St. Vincent” and Stone for “Birdman.”
Since the SAG Awards are voted on by fellow actors, the honors are considered one of the more cherished prizes, and are traditionally strong indicators of who will win on Oscar night.
On the television side of the awards, “Modern Family” — which is tied with “ER” for the record for most ensemble wins — will try for another prize, while competing with “The Big Bang Theory,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Veep” and “Orange Is the New Black.”
“Modern Family” castmates Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet are nominated for the comedy acting award, along with Louis C.K. for his eponymous comedy series, William H. Macy for his role as father of the Gallagher clan in “Shameless” and Jim Parsons for “The Big Bang Theory.”
Julie Bowen is up for comedy actress for “Modern Family,” as are first- time nominee Uzo Aduba for her role as Crazy Eyes in the Netflix hit “Orange is the New Black,” Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep”), Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation”) and Edie Falco (“Nurse Jackie”), who holds the record for most Actor nominations, with 21.
Drama series nominated for outstanding ensemble cast are “Boardwalk Empire,” “Downton Abbey,” “Game of Thrones,” “Homeland” and “House of Cards.”
Steve Buscemi (“Boardwalk Empire”), Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”), Kevin Spacey (“House of Cards”) and castmates Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, who played detectives in HBO’s “True Detective,” are all nominated for their dramatic roles.
Actresses with that distinction are Claire Danes (“Homeland”), Viola Davis (“How to Get Away with Murder”), Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”), Maggie Smith (“Downton Abbey”), Robin Wright (“House of Cards”) and Julianna Margulies (“The Good Wife”).
Margulies has won eight Actors and has a chance to break a tie with Alec Baldwin for the record.
Ruffalo is nominated in the television/miniseries category for his performance in HBO’s “The Normal Heart.” Also competing for the prize are Richard Jenkins (HBO’s “Olive Kitteridge”), Adrien Brody as Harry Houdini (“Houdini”), Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes (“Sherlock: His Last Vow”) and Billy Bob Thornton (“Fargo”).
Actresses nominated for their miniseries or TV movie work are Ellen Burstyn (“Flowers in the Attic”), Maggie Gyllenhaal (“The Honorable Woman”), Frances McDormand (“Olive Kitteridge”), Julia Roberts (“The Normal Heart”) and Cicely Tyson (“The Trip to Bountiful”).
“Fury,” “Get on Up,” “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,” “Unbroken” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past” are nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for stunt ensembles in a motion picture. For television stunt teams, nominations went to “24: Live Another Day,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “Game of Thrones,” “Homeland,” “Sons of Anarchy” and “The Walking Dead.”
Debbie Reynolds will be honored during the ceremony with the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award.
