SURPRISES ABOUND IN SAG NOMINATIONS

In a season widely regarded as a tough one to call in the acting categories (so far), the Screen Actors' Guild has chimed in on the Oscar race with its choices for the finest performances of the year. Among the expected contenders, or some of them, lie a few surprises, both big (Naomi Watts) and not so big (Steve Carell), while Brits outnumber Americans in the Best Ensemble Cast category due to nominations for films like The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything. The Screen Actors Guild awards will be held on the 25th of January in a live telecast.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)

Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)

Michael Keaton (Birdman)

Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Jennifer Aniston (Cake)

Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)

Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

Reese Witherspoon (Wild)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Robert Duvall (The Judge)

Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)

Edward Norton (Birdman)

Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)

J. K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)

Emma Stone (Birdman)

Meryl Streep (Into the Woods)

Naomi Watts (St. Vincent)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Ralph Fiennes, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Tony Revolori, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Léa Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson and Owen Wilson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Ethan Hawke and Lorelei Linklater (Boyhood)

Matthew Beard, Benedict Cumberbatch, Charles Dance, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Keira Knightley, Allen Leech and Mark Strong (The Imitation Game)

Charlie Cox, Felicity Jones, Simon McBurney, Eddie Redmayne, David Thewlis and Emily Watson (The Theory of Everything)

Zach Galifianakis, Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone and Naomi Watts (Birdman)

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Fury

Get On Up

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Unbroken

X-Men: Days of Future Past