Screen Actors Guild Awards: Day-Lewis and Christie win
Story by Jack Foley
BRITISH stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Julie Christie have won best actor and actress at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards.
Day-Lewis won for his role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s oil epic There Will Be Blood, and Christie was recognised for her portrayal of a woman facing dementia in Sarah Polley’s Away From Her.
In accepting his award, London-born, Ireland-based actor Day-Lewis dedicated his win to late Australian actor Heath Ledger, who was found dead in New York last week.
Referring to his role “unique and perfect” role in Brokeback Mountain [for which he was Oscar nominated], Day-Lewis said: “The scene in the trailer at the end of the film is as moving as anything I think I’ve ever seen.”
In her speech, Christie said: “It’s lovely to receive an award from your own union, especially at a time when we’re being so forcefully reminded how important unions are.”
She was one of the few stars who attended the red carpet ceremony to make mention of the ongoing writers’ strike, which has led to the cancellation of the Golden Globes ceremony and which continues to place a question mark over the Oscars.
Ironically, the SAG awards were the first major Hollywood award show of the year not to be affected by the strike because unlike other ceremonies, the show could go ahead because the writers’ union had reached an agreement with SAG to allow its members to take part.
The actors’ union strongly supports the striking writers who are demanding a new contract with royalty payments for DVD sales and internet downloads.
Other SAG awards
Other awards at the SAG event were presented to Joel and Ethan Coen, who won the Best Film prize for No Country for Old Men – 24 hours after claiming the Directors’ Guild Award.
And the film’s co-star, Spanish actor Javier Bardem, won best supporting actor for his role as a hitman. Addressing the brothers in his speech, Bardem said: “Thank you, guys, for hiring me, and thank you for taking the hard work of choosing the good takes instead of the ones where I really sucked.”
All of the winners in the movie categories are now seen as strong contenders to repeat their successes at the Oscars.
SAG awards also extend to television categories, which were largely dominated by mob drama The Sopranos, which completed its final season last year.
The show itself took the award for best ensemble cast in a drama series, while its main stars James Gandolfini and Edie Falco were named best actor and actress.
And the US version of The Office – starring Steve Carell in a role originally made famous by Ricky Gervais – won the award for best cast in a comedy.
Check out photos from the awards
Coens triumph at Directors’ Guild Awards