But it was Lupita Nyong’o 's win in "12 Years a Slave" that is sending a stronger message. With Nyongo's win, it means an upset may be brewing in the supporting category while the "American Hustle" win solidifies it as the front-runner.
Keep in mind that Jennifer Lawrence, who won actress last year in steamroller fashion, is up now in the supporting category this time
around. Back-to-back Oscars is hard to do and this may have put a kink in that talk. The young actress has had a great deal of success in her career already and this may be a way for this branch to quiet it down a bit.
Earlier this week the Critics' Choice Awards also
honored Nyongo's work.
The SAG Awards
honor the ensemble, however, and that means exactly that - the cast. So, a movie that was solid but not with a cast of characters, can be left out. For example, "Gravity," which is not quite an ensemble. They put it this
way, "These honors are fundamental to the spirit of the Screen Actors Guild Awards because they recognize what all actors know – that acting is a collaborative art."
It also seems likely that the actor awards are with more wins for Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. The one category that seems to be a lock is supporting actor and Leto.
Th SAG Awards
represent the actors and going forward they hold a great deal of clout when Oscars come along.
On the TV side, the swan song for "Breaking Bad" and lead actor Bryan Cranston, won.
Movies
Outstanding Ensemble
"American Hustle"
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Matthew McConaughey
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Jared Leto
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Lupita Nyong’o
TV
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Michael Douglas
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Helen Mirren
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Bryan Cranston
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Maggie Smith
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Ty Burrell
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
"Breaking Bad"
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
"Modern Family"
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
"Lone Survivor"
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series
"Game of Thrones"
Morgan Freeman
presented Rita Moreno with the 50th Annual Life Achievement Award. It was, however, 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, presented live on both TNT and TBS. It now makes up two unions and is actually SAG-AFTRA.