Will Smith, Lady Gaga, Ben Affleck score SAG nominations

NEW YORK (AP) — The Oscar race may be missing in-person glitz this year, but it doesn’t lack for star power. Will Smith, Lady Gaga and Ben Affleck landed individual nominations for the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards on Wednesday, while the casts of “Belfast” and “CODA” were among those nominated for the guild‘s top award, best ensemble.

The nominees were announced Wednesday by actors Vanessa Hudgens and Rosario Dawson on Instagram Live. While the nominations were conducted virtually due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the streamed announcement still represented one of the most meaningful mornings in an awards season largely snuffed out by the pandemic.

Joining “Belfast” and “CODA” for best ensemble were the casts for “House of Gucci,” “Don’t Look Up” and “King Richard.” Notably left out were the casts of Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” (which landed a supporting nod for Ariana DeBose) and Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog.” Campion’s film, though, landed individual SAG noms for Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

The Golden Globes, usually the kickoff party in the final stretch leading up to the Academy Awards, made barely a peep. They were unceremoniously announced Sunday on Twitter in a private ceremony due to Hollywood’s boycott of the beleaguered Hollywood Foreign Press Association over diversity and ethical issues. The Omicron surge also prompted the Critics Choice Awards to postpone its January 9 in-person gala. For the second year, Oscar season has gone virtual – and struggled to make much noise.

But the SAG nominations suggest that plenty of famous faces are in the hunt this year.

The nominees for best male lead actor are: Will Smith (“King Richard”), Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”), Andrew Garfield (“Tick, Tick … Boom!”), Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”) and Cumberbatch.

Up for best female lead are: Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci“), Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”), Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”), Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”) and Jennifer Hudson (“Respect”).

The nominees for best female supporting performance are: Caitriona Balfe (“Belfast“), Cate Blanchett (“Nightmare Alley”), Ruth Negga (“Passing”), DeBose and Dunst.

The best male supporting nominees are: Affleck (“The Tender Bar”), Bradley Cooper (“Licorice Pizza”), Troy Kotsur (“CODA”), Jared Leto (“House of Gucci”) and Smit-McPhee.

The SAG Awards, presented by the actors guild SAG-AFTRA, are among the most reliable Oscar bellwethers. Seldom does a movie or performance not nominated by the screen actors end up winning at the Academy Awards. Actors make up the biggest percentage of the film academy, so their choices have the largest sway.

But last year, SAG and the academy diverged more than usual. Only one of its acting winners – Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) – repeated at the Oscars. (The other SAG winners were Chadwick Boseman and Viola Davis in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” and Yuh-Jung Youn in “Minari.”) The Aaron Sorkin courtroom drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7” won best ensemble at a virtual SAG Awards while Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” – which included many nonprofessional actors and went unnominated for ensemble – triumphed at the Oscars.

That history will give hope to supporters of Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”), who was overlooked by the screen actors. Others that missed out Wednesday include Peter Dinklage (“Cyrano”), Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast“) and Rachel Zegler (“West Side Story”).

While some have rooted for some of the year’s most popular blockbusters to give the flagging Oscars a populist jolt, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Dune” and “No Time To Die” received no major noms Wednesday from the actors guild. “Dune” and “No Time to Die” did, though, join “Black Widow,” “The Matrix Resurrections” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in the stunt ensemble category.

Possibly the most popular TV series of 2021 did haul in plenty of recognition, though. Netflix’s much-watched “Squid Game” was nominated for four SAG awards including best drama series. The television nominations were also led by HBO’s “Succession” (four nods including best drama series and best actor for Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox); “Ted Lasso” (five nods including best comedy series); and “The Morning Show” (four nods including best drama series).

The 28th annual SAG Awards are to be held Feb. 27 and will be broadcast on TNT and TBS. The Oscars are scheduled for March 27.