USA: RUSSELL CROWE NAMED BEST ACTOR AT THE SCREEN ACTORS GUILD FILM AWARDS FOR HIS ROLE IN "A BEAUTIFUL MIND"

Record ID: 392570

  • Title: USA: RUSSELL CROWE NAMED BEST ACTOR AT THE SCREEN ACTORS GUILD FILM AWARDS FOR HIS ROLE IN "A BEAUTIFUL MIND"
  • Date: 10th March 2002
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (MARCH 10, 2002) (REUTERS) SCU SOUNDBITE (English) HALLE BERRY BACKSTAGE SAYING: "This was the first time that I had a, one the first times I had a character so well written and so complicated and so humanly flawed and I loved her instantly with all of her flaws, she was human to me and I loved her and I'm just really grateful." (8.1
  • Embargoed: 25th March 2002 12:00
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  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAH53K5UY3OKGQ1OI40FJJ8TLU
  • Story Text: The Screen Actors Guild, one of the leading indicators for the Academy Awards, named Russell Crowe the best actor for his role in "A Beautiful Mind" and Halle Berry the best actress, for "Monster's Ball." The cast of "Gosford Park"
    took home the prize for the best actin ensemble, leaving this year's Oscar's race wide open, with "A Beautiful Mind," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "Moulin Rouge," "In the Bedroom" and now "Gosford Park" all winning various critics' and industry honors.
    Hollywood's Oscar race entered its home stretch on Sunday with the five nominees for best picture clustered as close as ever after the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) selected the cast of "Gosford Park" as the top performers in a film.
    SAG, with some 98,000 member actors and actresses, picked Russell Crowe as the top male actor in "A Beautiful Mind," in which he plays genius mathematician John Forbes Nash, who battled schizophrenia throughout his life.
    The night's big surprise winner was Halle Berry, who claimed the SAG award for best female actor.
    Berry won for her portrayal of a down-and-out waitress in the rural south in "Monster's Ball," besting Sissy Spacek, who grabbed many earlier critical and industry honors for her portrayal of a grieving mother in "In the Bedroom."
    The gritty role was a departure for Berry, and she took a big chance with her career in one sexually explicit scene with co-star Billy Bob Thornton. Berry acknowledged the risk in taking the role, but said "it has paid off, big time."
    The SAG honors are the last major film awards before the Oscars on March 24 which are the industry's highest honors.
    Each year, shows like the SAG's give an indicator of who might take home Oscars, but this year's early honors have split widely "Beautiful Mind," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "Moulin Rouge," "In the Bedroom" and now "Gosford Park" all winning various critics' and industry honors.
    On Saturday, "Beautiful Mind" director Ron Howard was honored by the Directors Guild of America, whose pick often foreshadows a best director Oscar. But "Moulin Rouge" last Sunday took the top award from the Producers Guild of America, boosting its chances of nabbing the best picture Oscar.
    Backstage, Crowe talked up the fact that a movie with a complicated story about mental illness has resonated so well with audiences. "I'm pleased the movie has gotten the attention it has ... Everything after that, we're just enjoying it."
    Britain's Sir Ian McKellen of "Lord of the Rings" was named best supporting male actor in a film. He portrays Gandalf, the wizard who aids the hobbit Frodo as he seeks to destroy a powerful ring whose owner could rule middle-Earth.
    His female counterpart was Helen Mirren, winning the best supporting actress prize for her portrayal of a stuffy English servant in "Gosford Park." The high-quality cast, including the likes of Emily Watson, Kristen Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith, and Ryan Phillippe took the award for best film ensemble.
    Along with film awards, SAG names winners in television, and broadcast network NBC proved to be the big winner with five of six TV series awards with White House drama "The West Wing" and comedy "Will & Grace".
    For the second straight year, "West Wing" swept the drama categories from its closest rival "The Sopranos."
    The award for best ensemble cast in a comedy series went to HBO's "Sex and the City".
    In made-for-TV and miniseries categories, Sir Ben Kingsley claimed the award playing Otto Frank in ABC's "Anne Frank".
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