The Screen Actors Guild Awards have always been a good indicator of who the acting awards will go to at the Oscars. This year, however, only 14 out of 20 SAG nominees matched the corresponding Oscar categories. Still the actors who are currently frontrunners for their respective categories were nominated and should continue to get a huge boost from a SAG win.
The Best Actor race has become the most predictable of the season with one actor dominating the awards.
Bradley Cooper-Bradley Cooper's nomination in the Best Actor Category for "Silver Linings Playbook" marked his first SAG nomination. He also received a nomination this year for Best Ensemble. Cooper's performance has garnered numerous awards including the National Board of Review and the Satellite award. While he was hailed for his turn as Pat Solitano, he failed to garner the Golden Globe making his SAG and Oscar chances very slim. If Cooper is to win the SAG it will be based on the popularity of his film.
Daniel Day-Lewis-Daniel Day-Lewis received his fourth and fifth nominations this year for his work on "Lincoln." He previously won for Best Actor in 2007 for "There Will Be Blood" and in 2002 for "Gangs of New York" and was nominated for Best Ensemble in 2009 for "Nine." Day-Lewis has already won 29 awards for the role of Lincoln including the Golden Globe and the Broadcast Critics' Choice and is likely to win both the SAG and the Oscar.
John Hawkes-John Hawkes received his fourth nomination at the SAG awards for his work in "The Sessions." He was previously nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 2010 for "Winter's Bone" and for Best Ensemble in 2007 for "American Gangster" and "Deadwood." Hawkes seemed like a viable candidate to beat out Day-Lewis but failed to receive an Oscar nomination. As a result the actor has no chance of winning the SAG Award this year.
Hugh Jackman-Hugh Jackman's nomination for "Les Miserables" marked his first at the SAG awards. Jackman was also nominated for Best Ensemble. Jackman recently won a Golden Globe for his performance in the film but has not won any other award. As a result it seems like he has no chance of winning the award unless the SAG decides to surprise.
Denzel Washington-Denzel Washington received his fourth nomination for his performance in "Flight." He was recently nominated for Best Ensemble in 2007 for "American Gangster," and for Best Lead Actor for 2001's "Training Day" and 1999's "The Hurricane." Washington has only won one precursor award thus far in the 2013 Awards season. He also failed to garner a BAFTA nomination making his case for a win at the SAG unlikely.
Predictions: Daniel Day-Lewis has all the momentum and seems like the only choice in the category who can win.