Screen Actors Guild Awards go (mostly) to season favorites

A low-key event by design, the Screen Actors Guild Awards benefit from a narrow scope—it is for actors, by actors—and an intimacy that allows each winner to thank the crowd in a way that seems at least partly sincere. The annual ceremony, held last night and aired live on both TNT and TBS, had the added benefit of unspoken drama always only a whisper away, even if none of the winners were exactly a surprise.

Perhaps the biggest coup was a win for Sean Penn for Milk over the increasingly favored Mickey Rourke, who many believe will take home an Oscar next month. (It was his first SAG award, despite an Oscar victory for Mystic River.) Penn gave the kind of uneven speech we might expect of him, with an obligatory mention of Bill O’Reilly. Meryl Streep also scored a somewhat unexpected victory for Doubt for a performance that’s received divided reviews.

The other awards went precisely as expected. Best ensemble, SAG’s best-picture equivalent: Slumdog Millionaire. Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger. Best supporting actress: Kate Winslet for The Reader.

On the television side, it was no less repetitive: big wins for 30 Rock, Mad Men, HBO’s John Adams and all the people involved with them. The top acting categories were again the only (mild) surprises, with a win for Sally Field in Brothers & Sisters and Hugh Laurie for House.

James Earl Jones, meanwhile, took home SAG’s version of the traditional honorary award. Read a full list of the winners here.

Related links:
News: Oscar nominees announced: Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader, Benjamin Button
News: Coming soon to the Oscars: movie ads
Features: Signs of Life 2008: Best Film

Got a news tip for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.