SAG Awards 2013: Anne Hathaway, Tommy Lee Jones Win Supporting Honors
The cast of "Modern Family" beat out the likes of "Nurse Jackie," 'The Office" and "Glee" to win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy at Sunday's ceremony.
On the film front, Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Hathaway won supporting actor honors for their work in "Lincoln" and "Les Misérables," respectively.
Jones was honored for his performance as radical Republican Senator Thaddeus Stevens, an ardent abolitionist and sometime ally of Abraham Lincoln, but was not on hand to pick up his statue.
Hathaway earned her award for her performance as an impoverished mother forced into prostitution in the hit musical. The actress took the podium to thank her co-stars in both "Les Misérables" and "The Dark Knight Rises," saying what an actor learned in one job they applied in others.
The SAG awards honor the best of television and film, and the casts of "Breaking Bad" and "Homeland" are among the shows competing for top awards, while the actors in "Lincoln" and "Silver Linings Playbook" are among the stars vying for statues.
On the television side, Alec Baldwin won the leading actor in a comedy statue, making it his eighth SAG award for his work as a cutthroat executive on "30 Rock." The NBC sitcom is finishing up its seven seasons on the air next week.
"It was the greatest experience I've ever had," Baldwin said, while reflecting on the show's end.
His co-star Tina Fey won her own statue minutes later, marking her fifth SAG award for her work as a television writer on "30 Rock."
"Thank you for letting me in this union," Fey said.
She also paused to thank one of her rivals for the staue, "I share this with my sweet friend Amy Poehler...Amy I've known you since you were pregnant with Lena Dunham," Fey said.
Poehler was nominated for her work in "Parks and Recreation."
Many awards prognosticators are hoping that the actor's union will help clarify an Oscars race that has been labeled one of the closest in years. The hunt for the industry's top prize was shaken up after "Zero Dark Thirty" director Kathryn Bigelow and "Argo" director Ben Affleck were snubbed by Academy Awards voters.
Also read: Screen Actors Guild Awards: Live From the Red Carpet
The Screen Actors Guild Awards only honor performances, but a strong showing for the cast of "Lincoln," for example, could solidify its status as a front-runner, while upsets by the like of "Argo" or "Les Misérables," could give them a strong head of steam going into Oscars voting.
Also read: Screen Actors Guild Awards: Complete List of Nominees
Guild voters have been reliable predictors of what performances will ultimately be honored on Oscar night. All of the major film award winners went on to win Oscars last year save Screen Actors Guild lead-actress winner Viola Davis of "The Help," who lost the Oscar to Meryl Streep for "The Iron Lady."
"Skyfall" and "Game of Thrones" got the SAG Awards rolling on Sunday night, picking up honors for their stunt teams before the show even officially started. The crews of the two films received their honors on the red carpet outside the ceremony.
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Screen Actors Guild Awards 2013: 'Game of Thrones,' 'Skyfall' Win Stunt Awards
