Hoffman, Huffman, Dench, Nixon and More Receive SAG Award Nods

On January 5th, nominations for the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced, and a number of actors who double as film and theatre stars were honored.  Among the nominees were Dame Judi Dench, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Felicity Huffman and Cynthia Nixon.

This morning, screen Actors Guild President Alan Rosenberg, Ellen Pompeo and Benjamin Bratt announced the nominations for actors in five film and eight primetime television categories.  The 12th Annual SAG Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2006, at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center, and aired live nationally on Turner Network Television (TNT) and TBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT, 7 p.m. CT, and 6 p.m. MT.

Hoffman (Long Day's Journey Into Night, True West) and David Strathairn (Salome, Dance of Death) were both nominated in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role--Hoffman for his turn as Truman Capote as Capote and Strathairn for his performance in Good Night, and Good Luck.

Atlantic Theater Company co-founder Huffman (Speed-the-Plow) received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for her gender-bending performance in Transamerica, while Dench (Amy's View) was also honored for her work in the bawdy period comedy Mrs. Henderson Presents. 

Paul Giamatti (The Iceman Cometh, Three Sisters) picked up a nod for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in Cinderella Man, while Frances McDormand (A Streetcar Named Desire) was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for her performance in North Country.

As for the TV categories, Kenneth Branagh, the stage veteran who has starred in film adaptations of Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing and others, was nominated for HBO's "Warm Springs," while Cynthia Nixon (the upcoming Rabbit Hole, The Women) was also honored for the same film.  A number of theatre stars picked up nods for their work in HBO's "Empire Falls"--Paul Newman (Our Town, Picnic), Ed Harris (Taking Sides, Precious Sons), and Joanne Woodward (Candida).  Tony Award-winner Christopher Plummer (King Lear, Barrymore) was nominated for his work in Showtime's "Our Fathers," while S. Epatha Merkerson picked up a nod for her work in HBO's adaptation of Ruben Santiago-Hudson's play Lackawanna Blues.

Others to be nominated for SAG Awards in TV categories include Alan Alda (Glengarry Glen Ross) for "The West Wing," Huffman once again for "Desperate Housewives," Megan Mullally (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Grease) for "Will and Grace" and Mary-Louise Parker (Proof, Reckless) for "Weeds."

Shirley Temple Black will receive the 42nd Annual Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony.  The SAG Awards are the only awards in which actors grant accolades to their peers.

For a complete list of SAG Award nominations and for more information, visit www.sagawards.org.