As was expected, “American Hustle” won the top Screen Actors Guild award, winning the ensemble cast trophy while “Dallas Buyers Club” received strong support with Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto taking the actor and supporting actor trophies.
Cate Blanchett took the SAG best actress award as a woman becoming unhinged in “Blue Jasmine” and Lupita Nyong’o won the supporting actress award for the searing historical drama “12 Years a Slave.”
“Modern Family” and “Breaking Bad” each took a pair of TV awards, unveiled at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and based on voting by the 150,000 members of SAG-AFTRA.
Jennifer Lawrence said backstage that “American Hustle” director David O. Russell should be credited for the award for the con-job comedy, adding, “Once you work with David, you fall in love.”
The 20th SAG Awards provided mixed signals since the “American Hustle” cast won over “12 Years a Slave” and “Dallas Buyers Club” — which won three of the four individual acting awards — along with topping with “August: Osage County” and “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” The winner of the SAG ensemble trophy has matched the Oscar Best Picture winner nine times in 18 years, including last year with “Argo.”
“American Hustle,” “Dallas Buyers” and “12 Years” are also among the 10 candidates for the top feature trophy at Sunday’s Producers Guild of America Awards.
McConaughey’s portrayal of activist Ron Woodroof won him the the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. The role required him to lose 38 pounds — which improved his mental sharpness.
“There’s a real benefit to being hungry,” McConaughey said backstage. “All the power I lost, I gained from the neck up.”
McConaughey received his first Oscar nomination for the role on Thursday. The last nine winners of the SAG best actor award have gone on to win the Oscar.
Leto, who portrays a transgender woman named Rayon, dedicated the award to those who have died of AIDS and those living with HIV and said he wanted to share the award to “the Rayons of the world.”
“The epidemic isn’t over,” Leto said backstage. “There still is not a cure.”
Nyong’o scored a mild upset over Lawrence, who was up for “American Hustle” and won the category last for “Silver Linings Playbook.”
“Being recognized by your fellow actors is an honor of the highest order,” she said in her acceptance speech, then singled out her director Steve McQueen “for taking a flashlight and shining it underneath the floorboards of this nation and reminding us what it is we stand on.”
Lawrence had been favored by many pundits, given her Golden Globe victory a week ago.
“Modern Family” won the comedy ensemble trophy for fourth consecutive time and Ty Burrell won the actor trophy — blocking Alec Baldwin from winning the award for the eighth consecutive year for “30 Rock.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus repeated her Emmy win for “Veep,” marking her first SAG win since “Seinfeld.” She evoked major laughs in her acceptance by saying, “I’d like the thank the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press for this glorious Golden Globe….It’s important to understand that it’s truly an honor to be nominated for an Academy Award.”
Veteran thesps Helen Mirren and Michael Douglas won the movie-miniseries awards for “Phil Spector” and “Behind the Candelabra,” respectively. Mirren admitted that she had expected Elizabeth Moss to win for “Top of the Lake” and had not prepared an acceptance speech.
“I arrived in that very comfortable relaxed state — big mistake,” she said backstage.
Douglas, who won for playing Liberace, gave credit to his co-star. “The truth is, I am not here without Matt Damon,” Douglas said. “This is yours, too.”
The final season of “Breaking Bad” dominated in drama series, winning the ensemble trophy and actor award for Bryan Cranston. It was the second win in a row for Cranston. Cranston noted that he’d done “so many crappy jobs” before being able to make a living as an actor, adding, “We are the luckiest people in the world.”
He also told show creator Vince Gilligan “I love you, honey.”
Maggie Smith won the drama series trophy for an actress for “Downton Abbey.” She was the only winner not present.
The complete list of recipients:
THEATRICAL MOTION PICTURES
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY / Ron Woodroof – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
CATE BLANCHETT / Jasmine – “BLUE JASMINE” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
JARED LETO / Rayon – “DALLAS BUYERS CLUB” (Focus Features)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
LUPITA NYONG’O / Patsey – “12 YEARS A SLAVE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
AMERICAN HUSTLE (Columbia Pictures)
AMY ADAMS / Sydney Prosser
CHRISTIAN BALE / Irving Rosenfeld
LOUIS C.K. / Stoddard Thorsen
BRADLEY COOPER / Richie DiMaso
PAUL HERMAN / Alfonse Simone
JACK HUSTON / Pete Musane
JENNIFER LAWRENCE / Rosalyn Rosenfeld
ALESSANDRO NIVOLA / Federal Prosecutor
MICHAEL PEÑA / Sheik (Agent Hernandez)
JEREMY RENNER / Mayor Carmine Polito
ELISABETH RÖHM / Dolly Polito
SHEA WHIGHAM / Carl Elway
TELEVISION PROGRAMS
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
MICHAEL DOUGLAS / Liberace – “BEHIND THE CANDELABRA” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
HELEN MIRREN / Linda Kenney Baden – “PHIL SPECTOR” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White – “BREAKING BAD” (AMC)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
MAGGIE SMITH / Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham – “DOWNTON ABBEY” (PBS)
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy – “MODERN FAMILY” (ABC)
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / Vice President Selina Meyer – “VEEP” (HBO)
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
BREAKING BAD (AMC)
MICHAEL BOWEN / Uncle Jack
BETSY BRANDT / Marie Schrader
BRYAN CRANSTON / Walter White
LAVELL CRAWFORD / Huell
TAIT FLETCHER / Lester
LAURA FRASER / Lydia Rodarte-Quale
ANNA GUNN / Skyler White
MATTHEW T. METZLER / Matt
RJ MITTE / Walter White Jr.
DEAN NORRIS / Hank Schrader
BOB ODENKIRK / Saul Goodman
AARON PAUL / Jesse Pinkman
JESSE PLEMONS / Todd
STEVEN MICHAEL QUEZADA / Gomez
KEVIN RANKIN / Kenny
PATRICK SANE / Frankie
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
JULIE BOWEN / Claire Dunphy
TY BURRELL / Phil Dunphy
AUBREY ANDERSON EMMONS / Lily Tucker-Pritchett
JESSE TYLER FERGUSON / Mitchell Pritchett
NOLAN GOULD / Luke Dunphy
SARAH HYLAND / Haley Dunphy
ED O’NEILL / Jay Pritchett
RICO RODRIGUEZ / Manny Delgado
ERIC STONESTREET / Cameron Tucker
SOFIA VERGARA / Gloria Delgado-Pritchett
ARIEL WINTER / Alex Dunphy
SAG AWARDS HONORS FOR STUNT ENSEMBLES
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
LONE SURVIVOR (Universal Pictures)
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series
GAME OF THRONES (HBO)
LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Screen Actors Guild 50th Annual Life Achievement Award
RITA MORENO