Murphy and Hudson Take Home SAG Honors
By DAVID GERMAIN
LOS ANGELES – Eddie Murphy won the Screen Actors Guild Award for supporting actor Sunday as a flashy soul singer in "Dreamgirls," his latest prize on the road to a potential Academy Award. Co-star Jennifer Hudson took the award for supporting actress.
Helen Mirren won best actress for "The Queen," and Forest Whitaker was honored for his portrayal of Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland."
Murphy, who built his career as a fast-talking comic player, began with a thank-you speech more appropriate for a serious thespian – but his sober demeanor proved a gag.
"What a tremendous honor to be recognized by one’s peers. I’ve been acting for some 25 years now and this is a tremendous honor," said Murphy, talking in a British accent.
"No, I’m sorry," said Murphy, cracking up in laughter. "I feel goofy up here."
Mirren also won the guild honor for the title role in the TV miniseries "Elizabeth I."
"I’m so proud. I love this award more than any other award," said Mirren, who was chosen as best actress in a TV movie or miniseries. "I think especially being a Brit, American film acting has always inspired us and influenced us and impressed us, or me, anyway. I’ve always looked to American film actors to teach me how to do it, basically."
Her "Elizabeth I" co-star Jeremy Irons won the guild’s prize for best actor in a TV movie or miniseries.
Among other TV winners were America Ferrera of "Ugly Betty" and Alec Baldwin of "30 Rock" as lead players in comedy series. The award for best TV comedy ensemble went to "The Office."
"This is quite the honor having these people present this to us," Steve Carell, star of "The Office," said of the award’s presenters, the cast of the sit-com classic "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," including Moore, Edward Asner and Cloris Leachman.
Hugh Laurie won for "House M.D.," and Chandra Wilson was honored for "Grey’s Anatomy."
"Grey’s Anatomy" also won for ensemble cast in a drama series.
Mirren’s TV win as the 16th and 17th century British monarch follows triumphs for the same role at the Emmys and Golden Globes. Her film turn as the leader’s modern-day namesake in "The Queen" has brought her a string of Hollywood honors that is expected to culminate with the best-actress prize at the Feb. 25 Oscars.
On the movie side, this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards appeared to be a dress rehearsal for the Academy Awards.
Nominees in the four film-acting categories for the guild awards were virtually identical to contenders announced at the Oscar nominations last week.
With 19 of the 20 SAG nominees also earning Oscar slots, the guild awards were poised to give winners a chance to practice their academy thank-yous for Hollywood’s top prizes Feb. 25.
The category for overall ensemble cast, the guild’s equivalent of a best-picture award, included three of the best-picture Oscar contenders: the sprawling global drama "Babel," the mob epic "The Departed" and the edgy road-trip comedy "Little Miss Sunshine."
"Dreamgirls," which had been considered a potential best-picture favorite at the Academy Awards, also was among the guild cast nominees, yet was shut out of the nominations for the top Oscar. The other cast nominee was the Robert Kennedy tale "Bobby."
The ensemble-cast winner may get a boost for best picture at the Oscars, though the guild category has never been a reliable forecast for how the Oscars might play out. In the 11 years since the guild added the ensemble honor, only five winners have gone on to receive the best-picture Oscar, including 2005′s "Crash."
Past guild ensemble winners include "Sideways,""Gosford Park,""Apollo 13" and "The Birdcage," none of which won the best-picture Oscar.
The guild’s individual-acting winners fare much better on Oscar night because many of the voters for that category are also members of the academy’s actors branch, which chooses the acting Oscars.
Three of the four guild winners for 2005 – Philip Seymour Hoffman of "Capote," Reese Witherspoon of "Walk the Line" and Rachel Weisz of "The Constant Gardener" – all went on to receive Oscars, while all four guild acting winners for 2004 won at the Oscars.
The 13th annual SAG awards also recognized Julie Andrews for lifetime achievement.
Film and TV nominees were chosen by two groups of 2,100 people randomly chosen from the guild’s 120,000 members. The guild’s full membership was eligible to vote for winners.
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On the Net:
Guild Awards: http://www.sagawards.com