USA TODAY International Edition
Pfeiffer and ‘ Mank’ miss out
It’s another day of snubs.
The Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, announced Thursday, helped cement this year’s Oscar frontrunners, with “The Trial of the Chicago 7” having another strong showing after landing five Golden Globes nominations Wednesday. Aaron Sorkin’s courtroom drama tied “Minari,” “Da 5 Bloods” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” with three nominations apiece. The awards, voted on by a nominating committee of 2,500 actors, will air April 4 as a one- hour special on TNT and TBS ( 9 ET/ 6 PT).
As always with SAG, there were plenty of surprises, with Amy Adams (“Hillbilly Elegy”) and late- breaking contender Jared Leto (“The Little Things”) making the cut. Here’s who wasn’t so lucky.
‘ Nomadland’
Chloé Zhao’s meditative road odyssey has been a best picture front- runner all season long, but hit a minor speed bump in Thursday’s nominations. Despite a lead actress nod for four- time SAG winner Frances McDormand, the film was ignored in the outstanding ensemble category, likely because of its cast of mostly non- professional actors. A best cast SAG nod is no longer imperative for future Oscar gold – “Green Book” and “The Shape of Water” both went unnominated in the category – but it helps to have the support of actors, the Academy’s largest voting branch.
‘ Mank’
After surging back into the awards race with a leading six Golden Globe nominations Wednesday, Netflix’s “Citizen Kane” origin story took a hit at SAG, with Gary Oldman landing the film’s sole nod for best actor. Amanda Seyfried, a leading supporting actress contender all season, was passed over, as was the film’s star- studded ensemble.
Delroy Lindo
After shamefully being snubbed in
Golden Globes nominations, Lindo was again passed over for his turn as a MAGA hat- wearing Black veteran who returns to Vietnam. Instead, on- the- bubble contender Steven Yeun (“Minari”) earned a deserved spot.
Michelle Pfeiffer
The two- time SAG nominee gives her richest performance in years in absurdist dark comedy “French Exit.” She garnered a best actress Golden Globes nomination in the less competitive musical/ comedy category, but couldn’t crack the top five actress ranks at SAG.
Ellen Burstyn
The four- time SAG- nominated actress has a small but impactful role in Netflix’s “Pieces of a Woman” as the domineering mother of a pregnant woman ( Vanessa Kirby). Burstyn missed out on both Globes and SAG supporting actress nods this week, muddying her path to the Oscars.
‘ Promising Young Woman’
The subversive thriller was a hit with the Globes, scoring four nominations including best drama, director ( Emerald Fennell), actress ( Carey Mulligan) and screenplay. But the polarizing raperevenge film proved a tougher sell with SAG, which gave Mulligan a nod but snubbed its t cast, which includes Laverne Cox, Bo Burnham and Alison Brie.
‘ Judas and the Black Messiah’
“Judas” started screening in earnest only last month, before its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival on Monday. That could help explain the historical drama’s egregious snubs in this year’s SAG lineup, save for a best supporting actor nod for Daniel Kaluuya, who plays slain Black Panther chairman Fred Hampton. Kaluuya’s co- stars Lakeith Stanfield and Dominique Fishback delivered equally powerful turns worthy of best actor and supporting actress recognition, respectively. The film has a stacked cast of respected actors but was nowhere to be found in best ensemble.
Andra Day
Another case of a film that may have arrived too late. On paper, Day’s role in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” has everything that actors love: a singer- turned- actress in her first leading role, making a dramatic physical transformation to play a tortured reallife icon. But after showing up in Wednesday’s Globes nominations, Day didn’t repeat at SAG, edged out by Adams.
Paul Raci
Raci is a critics’ favorite for his moving performance as a deafened rehab counselor in Amazon’s “Sound of Metal.” Despite best actor nominations for his co- star Riz Ahmed in both the Golden Globes and SAG Awards, Raci was curiously left out of both categories.
Shira Haas
SAG was largely unkind to anyone not in “The Crown,” “Ozark” or “Schitt’s Creek.” While we were thrilled to see Michaela Coel included in best limited series actress category or “I May Destroy You,” “Unorthodox” breakout Haas deserved a spot in the category for her performance as a young woman fleeing a Hasidic Brooklyn community.