Jeff Bridges of Crazy Heart and Sandra Bullock of The Blind Side claimed top acting honours today at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, building momentum for possible Oscars glory.
"I love being an actor - pretending to be other people and getting into the shoes of other folks," said Bridges, who plays a hard-luck, hard-living country singer in the drama.
Although respected by his peers, Bridges has largely been bypassed for major awards. Bullock also got a rare chance to bask in the awards spotlight, winning for her portrayal of a tenacious real-life mother, Leigh Anne Tuohy, who helped a youth in need, future NFL player Michael Oher.
Both Bridges and Bullock had picked up Golden Globes trophies for their roles less than a week ago. Backstage, Bullock refused to speculate on her Oscar chances in March.
"Shhhhh. Shhhh. Shhhh," she said, repeatedly, to a reporter asking the question.
"I would be a hostess or a waitress or a house restorer before I ever considered myself an actor, because I never thought I was good enough," she added.
In another repeat of the Golden Globes, Christoph Waltz was honoured as best supporting actor for his role as an energetically ruthless Nazi in the film Inglourious Basterds, while Mo'Nique's searing portrayal of an abusive mother in Precious was honoured as best supporting actress.
The cast of Inglourious Basterds, an off-kilter wartime revenge saga from Quentin Tarantino, won the award for best ensemble performance, a possible sign of the film's Oscar chances for a best-movie nomination and nod for Tarantino.
The cast of AMC's 1960s Madison Avenue saga Mad Men won the trophy for best drama series ensemble for the second year in a row, while 19 cast members of Fox TV newcomer Glee, about misfits in a high school singing club, accepted the award for best comedy series ensemble.
Fox's Glee is on a streak - it claimed the best comedy series award at the Golden Globes.
Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey of NBC's 30 Rock won for best acting in a comedy series.
Golden Globe winner Michael C Hall of Showtime's Dexter, wearing a cap because of treatment he was receiving for Hodgkin's lymphoma, won best actor in a drama series. The award for best actress in a drama went to Julianna Margulies of CBS' The Good Wife.
Kevin Bacon won as best actor in a movie or mini-series for the war-themed series, Taking Chance, while Drew Barrymore received best actress honours in the category for Grey Gardens, about eccentric relatives of Jacqueline Onassis.
Betty White, 88, accepted a lifetime achievement award from Bullock for an enduring career that included The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls and showed her sharp comedic chops.
When Bullock joked that she found White annoying, White shot back: "Isn't it heartening to see how far a girl as plain as she is can go?
"I should be presenting an award to you for the privilege of working in this wonderful business all this time. And you still can't get rid of me," she told the audience.
But actors in a number of critically-acclaimed films went home empty-handed, including Up In The Air star George Clooney and the film's supporting actresses, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. The cast of The Hurt Locker also lost out.
Last year, SAG's movie cast award was presented to Slumdog Millionaire, which went on to win the best picture Oscar.
But this year, one of the season's strongest best-picture contenders, Avatar, was not nominated in any SAG category, all of which are acting, perhaps because Avatar's best performances were computer-assisted.
The 16th annual SAG Awards were held at Los Angeles' Shrine Exposition Centre.
Here is a list of winners.
Films:
--Cast: Inglourious Basterds.
--Actor in a leading role: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart.
--Actress in a leading role: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side.
--Supporting actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
--Supporting actress: Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
--Stunt ensemble: Star Trek.
Television:
--Drama series cast: Mad Men.
--Actor in a drama series: Michael C Hall, Dexter.
--Actress in a drama series: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife.
--Comedy series cast: Glee.
--Actor in a comedy series: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock.
--Actress in a comedy series: Tina Fey, 30 Rock.
--Actor in a movie or mini-series: Kevin Bacon, Taking Chance.
--Actress in a movie or mini-series: Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens.
--Stunt ensemble: 24.
--Life Achievement: Betty White.