SAG Awards 2012: Christopher Plummer's ready to get back to work

All the awards hoopla has taken its toll on Screen Actors Guild Award nominee Christopher Plummer. The actor is SAG Award nominated for his role in "Beginners," as a father who comes out as gay late in his life -- but all the time shuffling down the various red carpets of the awards season means less time on the set.

"I'm thrilled and I'm exhausted," the 82-year-old actor said Sunday before the show. "I'd rather be working. Working is so much easier than the awards."

But Plummer isn't complaining. All the recognition for the role has translated into a lot of offers for the veteran actor -- "offers of quality."

PHOTOS: SAG Awards 2012 red carpet arrivals

"I've never worked so much in my life ... it's keeping me extremely young."

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Photo: Christopher Plummer at the 18th Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday. Credit: Matt Sayles / Associated Press

 

SAG Awards: 'Good Wife's' Matt Czuchry will party on the plane

What would Matt Czuchry of "The Good Wife" like to hear from another actor? "Great work, complex work." And with "The Good Wife's" three years of Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, has he actually heard that yet? Not so much, but that's not the point. 

"These people here," Czuchry said Sunday, gesturing to fellow actors on the SAG Awards red carpet, "are all an inspiration to me by the work that they do on TV or film, so whether they say that or not, you know, I'm always inspired by their work."

While rooting for his ensemble, Czuchry is also cheering for costar Julianna Margulies, who's up for female actor in a TV drama series.

PHOTOS: SAG Awards 2012 red carpet arrivals

"If she wins tonight," he said, "that would be extra special."

Win or lose, Czuchry said he's taking the red eye back to New York on Sunday night and going straight to work in the morning.

"I'll be celebrating with some sleep on the plane. It's nice to be here," he said. "The celebration comes right now."

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SAG Awards: Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Jane Krakowski and more get their after-party on

As Justin Timberlake marked his 30th birthday Monday, he woke up with the party behind him — the People magazine/EIF-hosted SAG Awards after-party, held in a gala tent outside the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday.

Timberlake stuck close to "Friends With Benefits" co-star Mila Kunis, lounging in a booth with her "Black Swan" director Darren Aronofsky.

His "Social Network" pals Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg rolled through, bobbing and weaving through the night's big ensemble winners from "Modern Family," including Eric Stonestreet, Sofia Vergara, Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen, toasting with Champagne and Grey Goose cocktails.

A baby-bump-baring Jane Krakowski chatted with Matthew Morrison while his fellow "Glee" stars Jane Lynch and Lea Michele circulated. Tons of folks commented on how sweet "The Kids Are All Right" actors Annette Bening and Mark Ruffalo looked, talking closely and holding hands.

After the bash, select SAG Awards-goers hit the Chateau Marmont for a nightcap, including Chris Colfer and Amber Riley of "Glee," "Black Swan" king Aronofsky and Christina Hendricks, as well as "Dexter" stars Michael C. Hall and Julia Stiles — who arrived together — just before last call. 

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Photo: Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, left, smile wide on the SAG carpet; Jane Krakowski shows off her baby bump with designer fiance Robert Godley, right. Credit: Getty Images, left; Kirk McCoy / Los Angeles Times, right.

SAG Awards: When actors compliment other actors -- and they dig it [video]

Every year, when the Screen Actors Guild Awards roll around, we always hear the same thing from the nominees: "This award means so much more to me, because it comes from my peers!"

Sure, that's all well and good. But do famous A-listers ever actually praise one another on their performances? That's what we set out to discover Sunday on the red carpet at the Shrine Auditorium, where a handful of stars shared some of the compliments they've received on the awards trail this season.

Many of the "Glee" cast members, such as Dianna Agron and Amber Riley, said they still recalled the kind words Meryl Streep sent their way at last year's SAG Awards. John Hawkes was touched when Ben Affleck said he enjoyed the indie actor's turn in "Winter's Bone." And in the era of cellphones and laptops, "Conviction" star Hilary Swank said she was shocked when she received a handwritten letter from none other than Sharon Stone.

"You know, it's amazing when someone hand writes a letter. It's not an e-mail, it's not a text, it's not a phone call, it's not hearsay," Swank said. "Sharon Stone wrote me the nicest letter, and I'm like, 'Oh my, oh look, look!' I didn't frame it, but it's still propped up on my desk."

"The Social Network" star Jesse Eisenberg, who had just stepped off a plane after his "Saturday Night Live" hosting gig the evening prior, said he has always felt like actors are more encouraging of one another than those in different professional fields.

"I think that has a lot to do with the nature of working with people in that context -- you're not only a colleague, but you're kind of like sharing something emotionally," he said. "There's this whole other element to it, and the vulnerability of performing on a set. I think it adds -- it strengthens the camaraderie in a unique way."

If you missed the red carpet, click the link below for more photos of SAG Awards arrivals.

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SAG Awards: Chord Overstreet showers with clothes on, Dianna Agron doesn't breathe [Video]

Find yourself on an awards-season red carpet? Then you can almost always count on bumping into at least one cast member from "Glee."

With the Fox show taking off over the last year or so, the boisterous cast has walked its fair share of red carpets -- they've been everywhere from the Golden Globes earlier this month to the Screen Actors Guild awards on Sunday.

So the whole awards circuit must be a cakewalk at this point, right?

It is for Chord Overstreet, who joined the cast just this season and already seems to have the carpet down to a science.

"Wake up. Eat a great breakfast. You know, have my protein shake. Put on my clothes. Shower -- with my clothes on," he joked. "Then I blow them all dry, and I come out looking like this, I guess."

But Dianna Agron -- who has been playing Overstreet's love interest on the show recently -- says she's still not used to the fanfare. 

SAG Awards: For Melissa Leo, a nap isn't silly at all [video]

It seems like only yesterday that Melissa Leo was bounding onstage to accept a Golden Globe award for her supporting role in "The Fighter," and indeed, at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, the actress said she'd barely had a second to breathe.

"There's not been a lot of room to let myself down," Leo said on the red carpet, on her way in to take home another trophy for playing tough mother Alice Ward. "I do when I can. Even a five-minute nap seems to do me a world of good sometimes."

So is that Leo's secret for staying calm at award shows? Catch a little shut-eye before hitting the red carpet?

"There's no routine to it, honey," Leo said, laughing. "We gotta make sure we got the dress, and then we have to make sure the shoes, but the shoes don't fit, and the dress needs to be altered, so somebody has to come over. And then you realize there's no bag to put anything in, so, 'Oh, you don't need a bag.  So somebody will carry something.'

"I mean, it's a lot," she said. "It sounds so silly, and it really is totally silly."

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SAG Awards: For Hilary Swank, a cold means no hike, just yoga [video]

When Hilary Swank found out she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award in December, she already knew what she planned to do the morning of the show: go for a hike to clear her head.

Unfortunately, that plan went awry when Swank came down with a cold.

"Don't worry, I'm not contagious anymore," she said, noticing her proximity to us on the red carpet. But "Law & Order: SVU" star Mariska Hargitay was staying with Swank -- turns out the two are best friends -- and Hargitay tried to drag her sick friend out anyway.

"She goes, 'Let’s go hiking,' but I'm getting over this cold that was going around," she said.
"So I just couldn’t breathe very well to do a hike. So we did low-key yoga."

Swank lost out to Natalie Portman for the female actress in a lead role prize Sunday, but had she taken home the award, she said she would have done a repeat of her 2005 post-Academy Award-win-activity for "Million Dollar Baby": head to Astro Burger in Hollywood.

"My usual thing is to go get a burger," the slim actress smiled.

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SAG Awards fashion: Mila Kunis, Julianna Margulies and more are red hot

While the Golden Globes had us seeing green, SAG Awards fashion was all about red.

An ethereal Mila Kunis rocked a flowy rose-inspired Alexander McQueen gown (much less controversial than Michelle Obama's recent McQueen moment) and Cartier jewels, while Valerie Bertinelli showed off her own gems in a revealing little red number. 

Katrina Bowden of "30 Rock" matched the glamorous carpet, her A-line dress fastened with some serious bling at the waist.

Sarah Hyland of "Modern Family" was also on trend, as was "Nurse Jackie" lady Edie Falco and Julianna Margulies in Yves Saint Laurent. 

Are you a fan of the ladies in red? Tell us in the comments section below.

If you missed the red carpet, click the pics or the link below for more photos of SAG Awards arrivals.

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Photos:  Mila Kunis, left, and Julianna Margulies at the 17th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Credits: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times.

 

SAG Awards: Want Christian Bale's attention? Rip your shirt off

Christian Bale, who recently outed himself as a shy guy backstage at the Golden Globes, navigated the Screen Actors Guild Awards red carpet with reserve Sunday. In fact, the most animated gestures "The Fighter" actor put out were the raising of eyebrows or occasional nod of the head -- until one fan in the bleachers got his attention.

A man wearing a gray button-down shirt and black fedora shrieked Bale's name, then ripped open his shirt to reveal a "Fighter" T-shirt underneath.

The man thrust out a headshot -- of Bale, we assume -- at which point the amused actor finally cracked a smile and laughed.

Bale then walked over to the bleachers and humored his fans, signing autographs for a minute or so before composing himself and continuing down the red carpet, toward the trophy he would later win for male actor in a supporting role.

Click the pic above or the links below for more photos from the red carpet.

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Photo: Christian Bale from "The Fighter" signs an autograph as he arrives at the 17th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. Credit: Lucas Jackson / Reuters

SAG Awards: Jon Hamm, Judah Friedlander are slick dudes

Hair slicked back with what appeared to be a bucket of glossy product, "Mad Men" star and nominee for male actor in a drama Jon Hamm displayed what looks suspiciously like a ducktail at the back of his head on the SAG Awards red carpet Sunday in L.A.

The very clean-cut Don Draper would certainly not approve, but Hamm's fans certainly did -- he signed more autographs than anyone else on the carpet before them.

Meanwhile, Judah Friedlander of "30 Rock" sauntered down the red carpet, clearly comfortable after years of ensemble-nominated sitcom killing it on TV.

Wearing a black baseball cap with some bling punctuating the word "expecting," well, what exactly was he expecting?

"To have a party" Friedlander said with confidence.

The New York-based comic, who also performs standup around L.A., is the author of a relatively new book, "How to Beat Up Anybody."

It came out a few months ago, and he says he's especially proud of it.

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Top photo: Harry Shum Jr. of "Glee" and Judah Friedlander of "30 Rock" on the SAG Awards red carpet. Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

Left photo: Jon Hamm at the 17th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Credit: Lucas Jackson / Reuters