Another hour, another set of awards nominations. This time it's the turn of the Screen Actors Guild, who offer their bestest in the field of aahcting. And we must say it's a list that's all grubby with quality. Little Miss Sunshine, Dreamgirls and Babel head the nominees and all the expected honourees - Helen Mirren in The Queen, Peter O'Toole in Venus, Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls, Forrest Whittaker in The Last King of Scotland - are present and correct.
There are a couple of notable ommissions. Ben Affleck has been passed over for his Oscar-tipped role in Hollywoodland. As have Maggie Gyllenhaal for her critically adored role as a terrible mother in Sherrybaby and, one of our favourites of the year, Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada. But let's focus on the positive. Former child star gets a nod for his heartbreaking return to the screen as an oddly sympathetic paedophile in Little Children (which also sees the rather lovely Kate Winslet nominated) and so does Ryan Gosling for his performance in Half Nelson that had us dusting off our Best Actor Of His Generation badge and brandishing it in his direction.
The full nominees are:
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Leonardo DiCaprio - BLOOD DIAMOND
Ryan Gosling - HALF NELSON
Peter O’Toole - VENUS
Will Smith - THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Forest Whitaker - THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Penelope Cruz - VOLVER
Judi Dench - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Helen Mirren - THE QUEEN
Meryl Streep - THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Kate Winslet - LITTLE CHILDREN
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Leonardo DiCaprio - THE DEPARTED
Jackie Earle Haley - LITTLE CHILDREN
Djimon Hounsou - BLOOD DIAMOND
Eddie Murphy - DREAMGIRLS
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Adriana Barraza - BABEL
Cate Blanchett - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Abigail Breslin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jennifer Hudson - DREAMGIRLS
Rinko Kikuchi - BABEL
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
BABEL
Adriana Barraza
Cate Blanchett
Gael García Bernal
Rinko Kikuchi
Brad Pitt
Kôji Yakusho
BOBBY
Harry Belafonte
Joy Bryant
Nick Cannon
Emilio Estevez
Laurence Fishburne
Brian Geraghty
Heather Graham
Anthony Hopkins
Helen Hunt
Joshua Jackson
David Krumholtz
Ashton Kutcher
Shia LaBoeuf
Lindsay Lohan
William H. Macy
Svetlana Metkina
Demi Moore
Freddy Rodriguez
Martin Sheen
Christian Slater
Sharon Stone
Jacob Vargas
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Elijah Wood
THE DEPARTED
Anthony Anderson
Alec Baldwin
Matt Damon
Leonardo DiCaprio
Vera Farmiga
Jack Nicholson
Martin Sheen
Mark Wahlberg
Ray Winstone
DREAMGIRLS
Jamie Foxx
Danny Glover
Jennifer Hudson
Beyoncé Knowles
Eddie Murphy
Keith Robinson
Anika Noni Rose
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Alan Arkin
Abigail Breslin
Steve Carell
Toni Collette
Paul Dano
Greg Kinnear