Predictions: Winners at the 2014 SAG Awards

MANILA, Philippines — The 20th Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) Awards takes place on January 18 at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center in California.

Among the glittering trophies handed out to Hollywood’s best, only the SAG Awards are presented by actors’ peers. Two nominating panels — one for television and one for film — composed of over 2k union members from across the United States chose this year’s winners.

For film, nominations include both the casts for critically acclaimed films such as 12 Years A Slave and blockbusters such as Gravity. The set of TV nominees include previous winners such as Homeland, Game of Thrones, and Modern Family, along with new shows such as Scandal and Behind the Candelabra.

Now, we make our fearless predictions for the individual awards in each category. You can view the full list of nominations here.

FILM

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

• BRUCE DERN / Woody Grant – “NEBRASKA” (Paramount Pictures)
• CHIWETEL EJIOFOR / Solomon Northup – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

• TOM HANKS / Capt. Richard Phillips – “CAPTAIN PHILLIPS” (Columbia Pictures)
• MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY / Ron Woodroof – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)
• FOREST WHITAKER / Cecil Gaines – “LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER” (The Weinstein Company)

Winner Forecast: Chiwetel Ejiofor. Though he’s not exactly a Hollywood newbie, Ejiofor is a fresh contender in the SAG scene. This will make him a clear standout among previous SAG recipients such as Hanks and Whitaker. His gripping performance as a musician who was wrongly held captive is also sure to earn an Oscar nod this year.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

• CATE BLANCHETT / Jasmine – “BLUE JASMINE” (Sony Pictures Classics)
• SANDRA BULLOCK / Ryan Stone – “GRAVITY” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• JUDI DENCH / Philomena Lee – “PHILOMENA” (The Weinstein Company)
• MERYL STREEP / Violet Weston – “AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY” (The Weinstein Company)
• EMMA THOMPSON / P.L. Travers – “SAVING MR. BANKS” (Walt Disney Pictures)

Winner Forecast: Sandra Bullock. Gravity has garnered much buzz for the cinematic feat that it was, and you’ve got to hand it to Sandra, who plays an anguished astronaut, for convincing us that up in space questions about life and mortality can stay afloat. A secondary point is that we’d have to accept that we’ll never look that hot in spandex.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

• BARKHAD ABDI / Muse – “CAPTAIN PHILLIPS” (Columbia Pictures)
• DANIEL BRÜHL / Niki Lauda – “RUSH” (Universal Pictures)
• MICHAEL FASSBENDER / Edwin Epps – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• JAMES GANDOLFINI / Albert – “ENOUGH SAID” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• JARED LETO / Rayon – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)

Winner forecast: Jared Leto. It’s a close battle between him and Fassbender, who is one of the most underrated villains of this generation. He can deliver both rage-filled and chilling feats with equal terror. However, it’s Leto, totally transformed as a terminally ill drag queen, who will move his peers. It’s every actor’s dream, but not everyone is as brave — or as capable — to do justice to the role.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

• JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Rosalyn Rosenfeld – “AMERICAN HUSTLE” (Columbia Pictures)
• LUPITA NYONG’O / Patsey – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
• JULIA ROBERTS / Barbara Weston – “AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY” (The Weinstein Company)
• JUNE SQUIBB / Kate Grant – “NEBRASKA” (Paramount Pictures)
• OPRAH WINFREY / Gloria Gaines – “LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER” (The Weinstein Company) 

Winner Forecast: Jennifer Lawrence. Silver Linings Playbook is still fresh in our memories to remind us what a funny, grown-up, and utterly entertaining actress Lawrence is. If she takes home her 2nd SAG trophy this year, an Oscar will be in the bag too.

Television

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

• STEVE BUSCEMI / Enoch “Nucky” Thompson – “BOARDWALK EMPIRE” (HBO)
• BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White – “BREAKING BAD” (AMC)
• JEFF DANIELS / Will McAvoy – “THE NEWSROOM” (HBO)
• PETER DINKLAGE / Tyrion Lannister – “GAME OF THRONES” (HBO)
• KEVIN SPACEY / Francis Underwood – “HOUSE OF CARDS” (Netflix)

Winner: Bryan Cranston. If the collective anguish after Breaking Bad’s finale was any indication, then it’s one show that many in the industry still miss. As such, it will propel Cranston to win his 2nd SAG award for the show.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

• CLAIRE DANES / Carrie Mathison – “HOMELAND” (Showtime)
• ANNA GUNN / Skyler White – “BREAKING BAD” (AMC)
• JESSICA LANGE / Fiona Goode – “AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN” (FX)
• MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham – “DOWNTON ABBEY” (PBS)
• KERRY WASHINGTON / Olivia Pope – “SCANDAL” (ABC)

Winner: Kerry Washington. In her role as a crisis expert with ties to the White House, she is beautiful, powerful, and so deserving. Dame Maggie Smith is our next bet for this award.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

• ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy – “30 ROCK” (NBC)
• JASON BATEMAN / Michael Bluth – “ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT” (Netflix)
• TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
• DON CHEADLE / Martin “Marty” Kaan – “HOUSE OF LIES” (Showtime)
• JIM PARSONS / Sheldon Cooper – “THE BIG BANG THEORY” (CBS)

Winner: Alec Baldwin. He’s already won the award seven years in a row. So why not an eighth time?

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

• MAYIM BIALIK / Amy Farrah Fowler – “THE BIG BANG THEORY” (CBS)
• JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
• EDIE FALCO / Jackie Peyton – “NURSE JACKIE” (Showtime)
• TINA FEY / Liz Lemon – “30 ROCK” (NBC)
• JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / Vice President Selina Meyer – “VEEP” (HBO)

Winner: Tina Fey. She deserves the award for making 30 Rock come through the way it did. As the show’s finale airs on the same month as the SAG awards, we’re already imagining how emotional Tina’s speech will be. In our hearts, Liz Lemon lives forever.

Think our predictions are spot-on, or are they amiss? Let us know.

Find out who the real winners are by tuning in to Colours Channel’s SAG Awards live telecast on January 19, at 9 am (Manila time). — Krista Garcia/Rappler.com

Want your own red carpet moment? Post a glamorous selfie, tag @ColoursTVPH, and get a chance to win a trip for 2 to US to watch the 2014 Grammys LIVE! Visit Cignal.tv for more information.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards is part of the Colours Glam Fest. Colours is the first local lifestyle TV destination on HD catering to the modern women and hip young moms.

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Bryan Cranston, Kerry Washington, Alec Baldwin, and Tina Fey photos from AFP