Game of Thrones nominated for 3 SAG Awards!

SAGNominations for the 22nd Annual SAG Awards were announced live today, and once again, Game of Thrones made the list in several categories!

The cast has been nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, the highest honor for a TV drama at the SAG Awards.*

GoT will face stiff competition from the stellar casts of Downton Abbey, Homeland, House of Cards and Mad Men.

One cast member received special recognition- Peter Dinklage has been nominated for the award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series!

He’ll be facing off against Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm, Rami Malek of Mr. Robot, Bob Odenkirk of Better Call Saul,  and House of Cards’ Kevin Spacey.

The show is also nominated for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series.

Game of Thrones has won the Stunt Ensemble award for the past four years. GoT will be competing against The Blacklist, Homeland, Daredevil, and The Walking Dead for the award. Can they capture it again, after a year of action-packed episodes like “Hardhome” and “The Dance of Dragons”? We’ll find out!

The winners will be announced during the live ceremony on Saturday, January 30th. It will be simulcast on TNT and TBS at 8 p.m. (ET)/5 p.m. (PT).

Congratulations to the cast of Game of Thrones on their nominations!

*For those curious, the list of actors included in the Drama Series Ensemble award includes: Alfie Allen,  Ian Beattie, John Bradley, Gwendoline Christie, Emilia Clarke, Michael Condron, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Ben Crompton, Liam Cunningham, Stephen Dillane, Peter Dinklage, Nathalie Emmauel, Tara Fitzgerald, Jerome Flynn, Brian Fortune, Joel Fry, Aidan Gillen, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Michiel Huisman, Hannah Murray, Brenock O’Connor, Daniel Portman, Iwan Rheon, Owen Teale, Sophie Turner, Carice van Houten, Maisie Williams, and Tom Wlaschiha

Sue the Fury
Susan Miller, Editor in Chief of WatchersOnTheWall.com

72 Comments

  1. Quite an ensemble, it should win! I watch Downton Abbey, Homeland and I have watched Mad Men and I like them all, but I don’t think any of these shows pay such attention to employing wonderful actors for small parts. I mean, they don’t have something similar to Karsi, do they? They don’t hire actors like Ciaran Hinds and Dianna Rigg for several scenes a season. I know they are not considered as belonging to the ensemble, but I think I made my point clear.
    I adore Peter Dinklage, but I think Stephen Dillane should have been nominated this year (even if I don’t like Stannis). And no nomination for Lena?!
    Anyway, I keep my fingers crossed for our GOT!

  2. I really hate the way the SAG Awards determine who is eligible as part of the ensemble. We get random NW guys, but not Kerry Ingram, who was arguably the heart and soul of the entire season.

  3. Surprised as well that Conleth is not listed. Maybe it depends how much screen time an actor has during the season? It will be tough for Peter to win this, my bet is on Spacey.

  4. It all depends on the percentage/number of episodes you were credited in. Remember, SAG is a union and things are regimented that way, it’s not subjective. Conleth Hill, for example, was only in four episodes in season 5.

    But I wouldn’t insult people who are included just because you’re mad about people who aren’t. Everyone is necessary to make the show.

  5. Randa Noyce,

    You need 6 episodes out of 10 to qualify. This does produce omissions, but that’s the case with any rule

    Even among those cast with substantial parts, I count at least four people who made it onto the list thanks to wordless appearances lasting a few seconds: Christie and Portman (staring at Winterfell in 507), Murray (a few seconds riding on a wagon in 510) and Fitzgerald (a few seconds playing a corpse in 510).

    Notably, the show still can’t crack the female acting category (perhaps unsurprising, given how tight it is).

  6. Congratulations to all of the nominees! The accolades continue to roll in! 🙂

    On a separate note, HitFix published its fourth annual critics’ poll today. It compiles the Top 10 lists of 52 TV critics from different websites and publications. The lists are weighted by rank (10 points for the #1 show, 9 for the #2 show, etc).

    http://www.hitfix.com/news/tvcriticspoll

    Game of Thrones finished sixth overall (for comparison, it slotted in at third in 2013 and 2014, and fifth in 2012). The show appeared on the Top 10 lists of 21 participating critics, and received four #1 votes. Fargo won the poll (it wasn’t even remotely close), while 98 different shows received at least one vote.

  7. Downturn Abbey and Nutty Men aren’t really my type of thing and haven’t seen the other programmes cited (well seen a few scenes from TWD but not really watched it regularly). Will just keep my fingers crossed GoT does well – though the powers that be aren’t going to take notice of Sincerely Thine.

  8. Congratulation to the whole crew….it takes a village!! And to Peter Dinklage who is just the bee’s knees for me. But it is possible that Kevin Spacy will take the night for that category. I think that two out of three wins would be great (if not all three) 😀

    I guess we are going to get more and more award information as the year closes out. Go Game of Thrones!!

  9. Shy Lady Dragon:
    I mean, they don’t have something similar to Karsi, do they? They don’t hire actors like Ciaran Hinds and Dianna Rigg for several scenes a season.

    Major guest roles and using big-name actors for them is generally far more common on shows other than GOT. On GOT, between its uber-serialized format and the huge size of the main/recurring cast, such one-shot roles are extremely rare; indeed, I’d argue that’s part of why Karsi stood out so much.

  10. Sean C.,

    Speaking in general, yes, you are right. Nevertheless, I don’t think it’s the case with Homeland, Downton Abbey and Mad Men. I dont remember any memorable guest stars. And also their main casts are significantly smaller – it’s not the same to find 30 great actors or 7 (just random figures, I used them to support my point).

  11. Shy Lady Dragon,

    Mad Men has a ton of major guest parts; you’re right that they tend not to favour big names for them (Julia Ormond and Linda Cardellini are the only ones I can think of) but that’s a stylistic choice.

  12. Shy Lady Dragon,

    Who’s your favorite on Downton abbey? Mine would have to be Maggie Smith. What do they call her…Dowager Duchess or something? Eh, it’s been a year:) On the flipside I don’t care for Daisy.

    As for the awards, Dinklage again, figures. Not that he isn’t great but I’m getting tired of only him being nominated for things when there ARE other deserving actors here.

  13. I didn’t mean any disrespect to the other great shows which I like, as I have already said, but no other show has transformed me into a real fan. GOT really won my affection and talking about it here has become one of my great pleasures.

  14. Of all the mentioned series, I’ve only seen House of Cards and Daredevil, which are really, REALLY good. I gave up on TWD halfway season 5 (but people are saying it’s getting better now, so I might give it a second chance).

    But none of them compares to what I feel towards GoT. I just can’t explain it.

  15. Shy Lady Dragon,
    Hey Shy Lady *waves* and Yaga and Cersei’s Brain too I think were the others who were interested? I recorded that GRRM interview last night. Skimmed through to make sure it was all there, so haven’t actually watched it properly, but I’m pretty sure it’s this one which someone posted on You Tube on 14 Nov. I didn’t realise it was only being shown by Sky Atlantic, it’s not actually their programme.

    The other two shows aren’t on there so I’ve started transcribing them and will stick ’em somewhere accessible once I’m done. Enjoy! 😀

  16. Cumsprite,
    Hi Spritey *more waving, can’t do a dancing hedge on here though*
    They absolutely HAVE to use that song instead of the theme tune, it’s flipping awesome, even – dare I say it – better than Duran Duran. Even better have DD covering it. We need to make this happen, it’s what the internet was invented for! I’m starting a petition right now 😀

  17. Rygritte,

    O, I think it can be spelled in two ways – the other one is certainly Iain Glen 😉 His eyes can express so much! Not only when he’s hurt by what Daenerys has said, buy also when he found out about his father’s death.

  18. MoF,

    As mentioned above, only actors (starring/recurring) who appeared in 6 or more episodes were included. As a consequence, six starring cast members are not on the list, while nine recurring cast members are.

  19. Ygritte,

    I can’t even say which is my favourite character in GOT! Not joking, it’s hard to choose when the choises are Tyrion, Brienne and Jaime (it was very interesting how I hated him first, then I began to understand him and I finally I discovered that I liked him a lot). Then there are Arya, Jon, the Hound, Bron, Jorah, Varys… I don’t dislike Daenerys, but I don’t really like her. My favourite minor characters are Oberyn and Olenna.
    Similarly, I like the Dowager Countess (one should adore Maggie Smith!), the butler Carson (Jim Carter) and Anna (Joanne Froggatt) rather equally.
    I won’t ask what’s your favourite character in GOT because I know it’s Jon 😉

  20. “The show is also nominated for Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series”

    How can a comparison be made between comedy hijinks and hardcore action? A rather strange combo imho.

  21. MoF:
    I really hate the way the SAG Awards determine who is eligible as part of the ensemble. We get random NW guys, but not Kerry Ingram, who was arguably the heart and soul of the entire season.

    i disagree strongly there. sure her burning scene was quite harsh but her value – plotwise – was nonexistent… if ser onion has to solve the new york times sunday crosswordpuzzle during the war for the dawn in order to become azor ahai and save the day, i obviously redact my comment and never talk about it.

    i really dont get why her burning was such a great deal… (compared to what we already had seen…

  22. I am so happy for the ensemble cast but will grumble just a bit that my Lena was overlooked.. To me, she was the stand out this year.

  23. ni2tre: A bit disappointed about that.

    With Stannis having lost, surely The Iron Bank will back someone else… after all “the iron bank will have its due”.

    I was thinking that was sort of the purpose of Mace Tyrell being there…..to gain backing.

  24. Lulus Mum,

    I really enjoyed it. Maybe because I didn’t expect to find out huge secrets or great spoilers. Of course, GRRM didn’t say anything about when he could finish TWOW. Frustrating, yes, but we have to admit that he’s the supreme god of the world he has been creating. Without him there would have been neither ASOIAF, nor GOT.
    I love history myself, so I enjoyed the parallels with The War of the Two Roses. And it’s nice to listen to him telling about his characters.
    Thanks again, Mother of Cats!

  25. If people thought there was too much sex and nudity in GOT they should watch Outlander, that show is basically like soft core porn.

    Rygritte,

    Ahem, you’re forgetting about a little show called Deadwood 😉

  26. Ohhh!!! This is so exiting!! I hope GOT gets something,although it won´t be easy with Mad Men on the same run…MM lost the Drama Emmy to GOT so the voters might feel they have to level the charges…MM is,after all,one of their own;a Hollywood animal much,much more than GOT

  27. Shy Lady Dragon:
    Rygritte,
    O, I think it can be spelled in two ways – the other one is certainly Iain Glen

    I’ve heard it both ways. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE1fzk-4TJk&w=560&h=315]

    Shy Lady Dragon:
    Lulus Mum,
    Of course, GRRM didn’t say anything about when he could finish TWOW. Frustrating, yes, but we have to admit that he’s the supreme god of the world he has been creating. Without him there would have been neither ASOIAF, nor GOT.

    In some small ways, I’m glad that we don’t yet have the end of the series. The waiting and the wanting and the speculating are almost as awesome as the finding out.

    Al Swearengen:
    If people thought there was too much sex and nudity in GOT they should watch Outlander, that show is basically like soft core porn.

    In more recent seasons where especially the top stars seem to have no-nudity clauses, I would agree that GoT has less sexual nudity than Outlander. But comparing first seasons to each other, I would have to disagree.

    According to IMDb’s parent’s guide, there are five sex scenes in the first GoT episode alone. Having watched just yesterday, these scenes are crazy long and most are quite explicit. The guide also says that there are sex or nudity scenes in all but nine episodes out of fifty of GoT, starting with the middle of Season 2.

    According to the guide for Outlander, there isn’t a mention of sex or nudity until Episode 7. Granted, there are two Outlander episodes that are intense and explicit, but the other episodes don’t hold a candle to GoT. And these two episodes made me feel like Outlander was trying to be GoT by throwing in so much sex.

  28. K will:
    No Outlander????? best show on TV !! Won’t be watching SAGS now.

    I wouldn’t go that far (GoT is OBVIOUSLY the best show on tv), but I must say that Outlander is beautifully shot, has great sets/costumes/locations, and is very true to the books. And there are some very good actors on that show besides Sam Heughan(sp?), who is some fine man candy! Similarly, Black Sails is sumptuous and the settings/costumes/locations are great. The writing really kills that show, tho. Seems like they never thought that they’d get a season 2.

    Lulus Mum,
    Thanks for your efforts on our behalf! Cheers!

  29. K will,

    Ashara D,

    I agree about Outlander being beautifully shot, and I like the actors. I also agree that the writing was poor. I couldn’t get past the third episode. I went into it with a very open mind, having heard about it being centred on a “strong” female character, but I found it to be overwrought and rather dull. I wonder if the writing is problematic because of the source material? At the same time as I started it, I rather enthusiastically bought the kindle book, and ye gods, that was even worse. The writing is just…bad. Not 50 Shades bad, but horrible nonetheless. And it’s hardly feminist! They guy beats her, ffs. It’s ok, though, because he apologises. Bloody hell.

    Daredevil and Jessica Jones were my favourite new shows of the year. Can’t wait for Luke Cage.

    By the way, although I dislike his character for obvious reasons, I’m happy for Brenock O’Connor! Equally sad for Kerry Ingham. The process confuses me, but I guess it is what it is.

    Edit: Argh, just realised you were talking about Black Sails having crappy writing, not Outlander! I haven’t seen it. Also, JMHO about Outlander,I think I was just disappointed.

  30. JCDavis: I was thinking that was sort of the purpose of Mace Tyrell being there…..to gain backing.

    ni2tre:
    With Stannis having lost, surely The Iron Bank will back someone else… after all “the iron bank will have its due”.
    FreeParking

    One thing cool about the ADwD and TWoW’s Theon I preview chapter is that they document Tycho Nestoris’s travels to the wall and then to Stannis’ camp in the middle of a raging snowstorm, where he does some stunning things. He makes arrangements with the NW (Jon) for supplies, pays ransom for some ironmen near Deepwood Motte, helps save Theon and fArya from Winterfell and brings them to Stannis, and then meets with Stannis and has him finalize/sign papers for his loan repayment! (I find that last task hilarious!) Then off he goes in the middle of the blizzard back to the wall!
    🙂
    What a fucking driven machine he is! He is not just a witty, snarky chair-sitter and Mace-tolerator in Braavos…he is Indiana Jones, adventurous banker of Planetos! Also, I find it interesting that he is heading back to the CB at the time FTW happens. Hmmmmm….could he witness (or have knowledge of) the pending resurrection as well?

  31. Rygritte,
    I think Gatiss does a good job…but, yeah, he is just a banker.

    Lulus Mum,
    I enjoyed that interview as well. Thx. Interesting anecdotes, which expound a bit more on the same questions from previous interviews and cons. I am always fascinated by GRRM’s enthusiasm for his figurines. He even surrounds his likeness with “half-naked women”…hilarious. Dragons and mythical warriors are cool…but does he have “The Tick” like I have on my mantelshelf? 🙂

  32. Outlander’s novel (cross-stich or something) was, indeed, really really bad. I’d say 50 shades bad. So I guess the show, if you compare it to the novel, is a masterpiece. Still, nothing to be really excited about. I watched season 1, but am not going any further. Especially as I’ve read the novel and know what happens next – and what happens next is plain rubbish.
    Black sails, I did watch 2 seasons. I like it although I do wonder at some choices the writers made. Those who watch it understand my meaning…
    I’d love to watch Deadwood, but, not being a native speaker, I find it really really hard to watch it without subtitles… Really tough accents there! So let’s hope it will get on our tv channels here someday.
    But then again, there’s no show like GoT!

  33. Al Swearengen,

    I don’t mind nudity and sex in movies and I applaud GOT for being so daring at the same time preserving the books’ atmosphere. I watch and like Outlander, but the mixture of sex and torture I find disturbing. Randall, imo, is the most insane character, but Ramsay is a more interesting villain.

  34. Congratulations to the best cast on tv EVER, always love the award season.

    Also unlike everyone else i love this part of the off season between december and april.

  35. Shy Lady Dragon:
    Al Swearengen,

    I don’t mind nudity and sex in movies and I applaud GOT for being so daring at the same time preserving the books’ atmosphere. I watch and like Outlander, but the mixture of sex and torture I find disturbing. Randall, imo, is the most insane character, but Ramsay is a more interesting villain.

    Actually, if you watch Outlander, there’s more sex there… In GOT the characters are shown starting or finishing or a bunch of random naked women sitting on dudes’ lap but never doing it XD

  36. On the cast, I’m with Downton Abbey this time, sorry. I can’t find an actor who didn’t knock out the park , even if they are minor characters.

    And it kinda bothers me Peter and Emilia are always nominated as best actors. Peter is awesome, but this season didn’t have anything to shine, and I found Emilia just average :/

  37. Shy Lady Dragon,

    Love Mr. Carson! He’s so good as the stuffy butler with the delicate sensibilities haha. I actually liked Lady Mary some too the first couple of seasons. Thought yeah she has this ice princess exterior but we will see she has a sensitive side as the story progresses. Nope, never happened lol. She can’t be nice to poor Edith, even when she suffers a major loss. As for JS, I just had a revelation as to why he is my fave, on a deeper level. The realization that there is a similarity both in terms of personality, and life journey. Maybe similarity is not “quite” the right term? But I can’t find the perfect one here. Not good with words:(

  38. SlayerNina,

    Yeah. It’s kind of frustrating especially when you go back and re-watch some of the episodes and it hits you just how well Lena, Alfie, Kit, and others in earlier seasons nailed it and yet here’s dragon mom getting the nomination lol. And Dinklage winning for his least impressive season imo.

  39. Ygritte,

    Don’t worry, I got what you meant. Our struggle to find the right path and follow it makes us connect to characters who have such life journeys. And, of course, we don’t have to be bastards and join military orders to feel that, deep down, we experienced similar feelings to those of the characters.
    I like Lady Mary myself and, strange enough, I couldn’t sympathise with Edith at the beginning. She seemed the typical bitter resentful not so pretty sister.
    I’m so greatful that I live in a time when a young woman can get a career and be independent and not worry about getting a husband. I began to like Edith when she became a journalist and then a mother. And I blamed Mary for disclosing Edith secret. Of course, one mustn’t lie to a partner, but I understand Edith’s fear that she might be abandoned.
    I’m glad that Mary and Edith have such a great friend in their brother-in-law, Tom’s a sweetheart.
    What I also like about Marry is how she is really BFF with Anna, not minding that the latter is just her servant. I think Mary opens to Anna as she does to nobody else.

  40. Ygritte,

    Oh, and I find Barrow a very interesting character. The later seasons showed his insecurities and sufferings, as well as his struggle to get friends. Must have been dreadful for gay people at that time.
    I don’t like Daisy myself. I think she has that lack of delicacy which can’t be erased with studies and social position. Remember how she wasn’t able to comfort that poor dying lad who loved her, then she has outbursts when least needed.
    Remember Rose Leslie in the first season? I liked her a lot and was so glad when she managed to get the job she wanted. Do you know that this actress who played a servant and a wildling is actually a Scottish noblewoman? She was born and raised in a Medieval castle, the home of her family for ages.
    https://www.yahoo.com/tv/downton-abbey-stars-reenact-scene-with-american-083105148.html
    That’s for you to have a laugh. Tell me how good they were at imitating American accents.

  41. To all who said thanks for the link, you’re most welcome, glad you enjoyed it! I won’t try and name you because if you reply to more than two or three people in the same post it all goes horribly wrong 🙁

    Shy Lady Dragon, passed on your lovely wishes to the furry ones; Bert says “waaaaah” and Ernie squeeeeeed. Big hug to your little one too 😀

    Ginevra *waving* hey lady, welcome back! 😀 I saved you a seat over the summer break. We have found out LOADS of cool stuff about what’s coming up which I won’t mention here as it’s very much into spoiler territory. You have a lot to catch up on!

  42. LordGriffith,

    Based on the competition, GoT better win this time around.

    How bout a trifecta, Emmy, SAG and GG, it’s doable this year.

    BTW-WTF is “The Martian” nominated for Best Comedy

  43. Shy Lady Dragon:

    I do remember reading something about Rose Leslie being highborn but I didn’t picture her in a castle and all, haha. Lucky lady! She did a fantastic job in GOT…. I saw a brief interview (on the carpet) and I guess I was expecting to see “something” of Ygritte but there was no trace. It surprised me how different she was in comparison . I still don’t remember her in Downton though! When I heard a year ago that she had been on the show I thought wait, what, but I was there and don’t remember her! But then I saw old set pics with all the cast and went “Oh… yeah” But I don’t remember the story line. The older seasons should be available On demand soon, it’ll be fun to watch them again. But Daisy, ugh it makes me wonder why Ms. Patmore has such affection for her. That poor guy that loved her, what was his name? Alfred? That was so sad, I remember gritting my teeth saying girl, you better fake it better than that, the poor guy is dying! And they did very well with the American accents! Valley-girl Michelle hehe. I wonder how much voice coaching goes into being able to do that for like, the entirety of a script, or if it’s just mostly talent with a bit of practice.

  44. Shy Lady Dragon,

    Awesome, thanks for the link! It’s a pleasure chatting with you as well, Shy Lady Dragon. I’m off to bed now but it gives me something to watch when I get home from work (so hectic at the holidays) yay :)Here’s to hoping we might be presented with a new juicy headline at our next check-in too!

  45. The real shame is that Stephen Dillane was the best actor last year, but he’s ignored to go with the PC character who didn’t do a whole hell of a lot. I mean, I love Dinklage, but c’mon…get real!

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