Screen Actors Guild awards honour Day-Lewis and Christie

British actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Julie Christie took the top prizes last night at the annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Hollywood, both inching closer to Oscars. Day-Lewis won best actor for There Will Be Blood, while Christie, who has hinted that she might now retire from film acting, received best actress for Away From Her. The champagne flowed and the stars turned out, though the evening was punctuated with poignant memories of the late Heath Ledger, to whom Day-Lewis dedicated his award [see separate story], and dominated by references to the ongoing writer's strike.

Because actors generally have supported the writers' strike, the striking Writers Guild of America allowed its members to write for the SAG awards show and agreed not to mount protests outside the event - a gesture it has not so far extended to next month's Oscar ceremony. Julie Christie, who beat Cate Blanchett for the best female actor award, reminded the audience of the importance of labour unions while accepting her honour for Away From Her. "It's lovely to receive an award from your own union," Christie, who wore an elegant black pantsuit, said. "Especially at a time when we’re realising how important labour unions are."

Since the stars boycotted the Golden Globes, this was the first awards show of the season to feature such luminaries as Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt (pictured above with Day-Lewis) and Tom Cruise, who gave out the evening's final award for best ensemble in a motion picture – the SAG equivalent of best film award - to the cast of the Coen brothers' movie, No Country for Old Men. Earlier in the evening, Javier Bardem won best supporting actor for his part in the same film. (Continued below)

Veteran actress Ruby Dee was a surprise winner of best supporting actress for her role in American Gangster. Dee was competing against Tilda Swinton for the thriller Michael Clayton and Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone and the ever-present Blanchett playing Bob Dylan in I'm Not There.

Winners at the SAG awards are normally seen as key contenders for an Oscar since actors make up the biggest group of the 6,000 Academy Award voters. Before last night's prize-giving, the SAGs has appeared out of sync with the upcoming Oscars. The true-life wilderness story Into the Wild, written and directed by actor Sean Penn, had led the SAG field with four nominations, while it has received a disappointing two Oscar nods. In the event, the film won no SAGS last night, and the Oscars could well end up mirroring the SAG awards in the major categories.

In the television awards, the team behind The Sopranos, enjoyed a last hurrah after their decade-long run ended last year. James Gandolfini earned a standing ovation when he beat Hugh Laurie for best actor in a TV series; Edie Falco won best actress for her role as tough-as-nails Carmela, and the entire cast won for best ensemble acting. "This is our last official act as the Sopranos ever," said a bearded Gandolfini.