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 front-runners for their respective categories were nominated and should continue to get a huge boost from a SAG win.
The Best Supporting Actress category has one frontrunner in the race with two others nominated for the Oscar.
Sally Field-Veteran actress Sally Field scored her eighth and ninth SAG nominations this year with Supporting Actress and Ensemble nominations for her work in "Lincoln." Field previously won for the TV series "Brothers and Sisters" and was only nominated once in film back in 1994 for Supporting Actress in "Forest Gump." Field has taken home five precursor awards for her turn as Mary Todd Lincoln, but is unlikely to win due to her fierce competition.
Anne Hathaway-Anne Hathaway has enjoyed one of the biggest years of her career and her nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Ensemble in "Les Miserables" mark her third and fourth nominations. She was previously nominated for her ensemble work in "Brokeback Mountain" and for her lead role in "Rachel Getting Married." This year Hathaway is the clear frontrunner of the award. She has already won a whopping 24 precursor awards including the Golden Globe and the Critics' Choice. Her performance as Fantine was hailed as as "profound" and "moving."
Helen Hunt-Helen Hunt's nomination for "The Sessions" marks the actress' 11th nomination. Her last nomination came in 2007 for her Ensemble work in "Bobby" and she previously won for her turn in "As Good as it Gets" in 1997. Hunt has generated little buzz for her performance as Cheryl and has only won two precursor awards in the Supporting Actress category and one in the Best Actress category. She is nominated for the BAFTA and the Oscar but her failure to claim the Golden Globe and Critics' Choice is a bad sign. Hunt will most likely have to be content with her nomination at the SAG this year.
Nicole Kidman-The biggest surprise of the SAG awards was Nicole Kidman's nomination for her portrayal as Charlotte Bless in "The Paperboy." The actress scored her seventh nomination with the organization and is most likely to lose. Kidman has not generated any buzz and she failed to get an Oscar nomination in the role. Additionally, the film was disliked by critics and audiences. Kidman is also nominated for Best Actress in a Television Movie for her portrayal in "Hemingway & Gellhorn" and is more likely to win for that.
Maggie Smith- Another surprise in the category was Maggie Smith in "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel." Smith picked up four nominations at the guild this year including Best Ensemble for "Hotel" and two for "Downton Abbey." The actress failed to get nominated for the Oscar and the BAFTA, making this nomination almost irrelevant to the race. If Smith is to win at the SAG it will be for her supporting role in "Downton Abbey" for which she already won an Emmy and a Golden Globe award this year.
Predictions: Anne Hathway will most likely win this award as she has garnered more accolades than any other actress and her film is nominated for Best Ensemble.