‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ and ‘Banshees of Inisherin’ Lead SAG Nominations

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ was a surprise snub, but there was reassuring news for the likes of Adam Sandler and Brendan Fraser.

Michelle Yeoh in 'Everything Everywhere All at Once.' Photo Credit: Courtesy of A24.

With the Golden Globes in the rear view, attention turned to the awards––or at least their nomination announcement––chosen exclusively by Hollywood’s acting community, the Screen Actors Guild awards.

Because of the large size of the voting body, the SAG awards tend to be a decent pointer to who could be looking at an Oscar for acting, or at the very least, a nomination.

So you’ve got to feel sorry for Tom Cruise today, as neither he nor his ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ cast made the list. Though it does seem more likely that the movie has a shot at a Best Picture nomination and plenty of technical nods at the Academy Awards, the chatter about Cruise’s performance and the warm reception for the likes of Glenn Powell and the other ‘Top Gun’ ensemble hasn’t translated into acting kudos here.

Many of the main categories are the expected batch of returning names (Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis for example) plus the breakthroughs such as ‘Elvis’ Austin Butler and ‘Till’s Danielle Deadwyler. ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’, led by cast Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan, is a clear favorite and seems likely to pick up several trophies.

Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell in the film 'The Banshees of Inisherin.'

Also dominating categories as it has in other awards nomination list is ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’, with most of the main cast scoring nods this time. Adam Sandler is also something of a surprise, though his performance in basketball drama ‘Hustle’ has won plenty of praise.

Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans’ was among the ensemble nods, and Paul Dano was nominated for his leading role, but there was something of a shock as Michelle Williams, whose work as a character based on the director’s mother has been both nominated and won elsewhere but didn’t even crack the nominations here.

Brendan Fraser continues to score for his performance in ‘The Whale’, which also saw a nomination for co-star Hong Chau, but surprisingly not for its ensemble, which also includes Sadie Sink.

Conversely, ‘Babylon’ notched zero nominations for the separate likes of Brad Pitt (who have appeared on other lists) but did appear in the ensemble section. It’s perhaps telling that ‘Babylon’, which has largely fizzled at the box office, is having a quieter awards season despite being a more recent release than some of its competition.

Austin Butler as Elvis in Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama 'Elvis,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright: © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Find the nomination list below…

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Hustle’)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Everything Everywhere All at Once’)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a ing Role

Stephanie Hsu (‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a ing Role

The Good Nurse’)

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

‘Babylon’
‘The Banshees of Inisherin’
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
‘The Fabelmans’
‘Women Talking’

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’
‘The Batman’
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’
‘Top Gun: Maverick’
‘The Woman King’

On the TV side of the list, there were also few surprises, though Yellowstone’ casts are starting to make more of an impact.

But while it was good to see the nominations for ‘Better Call Saul, it remains an outright crime that Rhea Seehorn isn’t on the list for her work as Kim Wexler.

Much like the movies, there was the standard mix of people who have won plenty of awards before (Julia Garner of ‘Ozark’, for example, or the ‘Only Murders in the Building’ cast) and those whose shows are brand new ‘The Bear’, which has been an awards favorite so far.