"12 Years a Slave" and "Lee Daniels’ The Butler" Among Top SAG Awards Nominees

The Screen Actors Guild released their list of award nominees this morning — one day before the Golden Globes announces their selections of the year’s best television shows and motion pictures.  Among the top nominees for the 20th annual SAG awards were 12 Years a Slave and Lee Daniels’ The Butler – which solidified their status as front-runners for the Oscars.
12 Years a Slave led the pack with four nominations: outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture, outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role (Chiwetel Ejifor), outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role (Michael Fassbender) and outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role (Lupita Nyong’o).  The film also scored big among other awards ceremonies after the Boston Society of Film Critics awarded the film its top prize while the New York Film Critics Online named it best picture of the year.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler was also a top contender with three nominations. Oprah Winfrey was nominated for outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role and Forest Whitaker was among the nominees for outstanding performance by male actor in a leading role. The film was also nominated for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture.
Meanwhile, in television Kerry Washington and Angela Bassett and Don Cheadle all earned nominations for their work this year, Washington for lead actress in the ABC drama Scandal, Bassett for her turn as Coretta Scott King in the Lifetime television movie Betty and Coretta, and Cheadle for his Showtime comedy series House of Lies.
Captain Phillips – which seemed as though it was sailing under the radar of awards nominations — made a splash among the SAG nominees this year. The film, which is based on the true story of a captain whose ship was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009, was nominated for two awards.  The first was Tom Hanks, who played Captain Richard Phillips, and was listed among others in the category for outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role. Barkhad Abdi — who took on the role of the lead Somali pirate — also earned an SAG nomination for outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role.
The Screen Actors Guild was officially founded in 1933 and now represents more than 200,000 film and television performers worldwide. It is considered to be one of the best indicators of success for the Academy Awards.  The 20th annual SAG awards is scheduled to air on Jan. 18, 2014, at 8 p.m. ET.
Here is the full list of nominees:
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
12 Years A Slave
American Hustle
August: Osage County
Dallas Buyers Club
Lee Daniels’ The Butler
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Forest Whitaker, Lee Daniels’ The Butler
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Bruhl, Rush
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave
James Gandolfini, Enough Said
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years A Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey, Lee Daniels’ The Butler
OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY STUNT ENSEMBLE MOTION PICTURE
All is Lost
Fast and Furious 6
Lone Survivor
Rush
The Wolverine
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
30 Rock
Arrested Development
The Big Bang Theory
Modern Family
Veep
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Claire Danes, Homeland
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Kerry Washington, Scandal
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Jason Bateman, Arrested Development
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra
Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra
Jeremy Irons, The Hollow Crown
Rob Lowe, Killing Kennedy
Al Pacino, Phil Spector
TELEVISION 
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR MINISERIES
Angela Bassett, Betty and Coretta
Helena Bonham Carter, Burton and Taylor
Holly Hunter, Top of the Lake
Helen Mirren, Phil Spector
Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake
OUTSTANDING ACTION PERFORMANCE BY STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A TELEVISION SERIES
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Game of Thrones
Homeland
The Walking Dead
article by Lilly Workneh via thegrio.com (additions by Lori Lakin Hutcherson)