"Crash" wins Screen Actors Guild upset

Reese Witherspoon won lead-actress honors for "Walk the Line" and her portrayal of country singer June Carter, who she said inspired her work in the movie.

LOS ANGELES — Reese Witherspoon as singer June Carter in "Walk the Line" and Philip Seymour Hoffman as author Truman Capote in "Capote" won lead-acting awards Sunday from the Screen Actors Guild, while the ensemble drama "Crash" pulled off an upset win over "Brokeback Mountain" for the overall cast award.

Rachel Weisz of the murder thriller "The Constant Gardener" and Paul Giamatti of the boxing drama "Cinderella Man" received supporting-acting honors.

"Oh, my God, y'all. Sometimes, I can't just shake the feeling that I'm just a little girl from Tennessee," said Witherspoon, who plays Carter during her long, stormy courtship with country singer Johnny Cash. "I want to say my biggest inspiration for this movie obviously was June Carter. She was an incredible woman."

Hoffman, considered the favorite for the best-actor Oscar as Capote amid the author's struggles to research and write the true-crime novel "In Cold Blood," had gushing thanks for his "Capote" co-stars.

"It's important to say that actors can't act alone, it's impossible. What we have to do is support each other," Hoffman said. "Actors have to have each other's backs. It's the only way to act well is when you know the other actor has your back, and these actors had my back, and I hope they know I had theirs."

"Crash" follows the lives of a far-flung cast of characters over a chaotic, 36-hour period in Los Angeles.

"This celebrates the definition of what an ensemble is all about. There's 74 of us," "Crash" co-star Terrence Howard said of the film's huge cast.

Weisz won for best supporting actress for her role as a rabble-rousing humanitarian-aid worker, while Giamatti was honored as supporting actor for playing the manager of Depression-era fighter Jim Braddock.

Felicity Huffman, who has been considered the best-actress Oscar front-runner for her gender-bending role in "Transamerica," lost to Witherspoon but won the prize for best actress in a TV comedy for "Desperate Housewives," which also won for best comedy ensemble.

"I love actors. I married one. OK, I married a fantastic one," Huffman said of her husband, William H. Macy. "But even more than acting, I love the community of actors. I love the green room. I love the hair and makeup trailer. ... I'm so happy I can make a living at it, because I was never very good at math."

Sean Hayes won for best actor in a TV comedy for his role in "Will & Grace."

The best-actress honor for a television drama series went to Sandra Oh for the medical drama "Grey's Anatomy." Oh said she was gratified at how the casting of the show reflected real-world diversity.

"This is unbelievable. I thank every single actor out there. I'm so grateful for having a job," Oh said. "To all my fellow Asian-American actors out there, I share this with you, and be encouraged and keep shining."

Kiefer Sutherland won as best actor in a TV drama for the action series "24," while the airplane-disaster show "Lost" won for TV dramatic ensemble.

"A friend of mine always says if you don't have something nice to say about someone, say it," said "Lost" co-star Terry O'Quinn, surrounded by fellow cast members. "This is the saddest collection of climbing, grasping, paranoid, back-stabbing, screen-grabbing schmoozers and losers that you ever saw in your life. But we love each other very much."

Screen Actors Guild award winners

Movies:

Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote."

Actress: Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line."

Supporting actor: Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man."

Supporting actress: Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener."

Ensemble cast: "Crash."

Television:

Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries: Paul Newman, "Empire Falls."

Actress in a Television Movie or Miniseries: S. Epatha Merkerson, "Lackawanna Blues."

Actor in a Drama Series: Kiefer Sutherland, "24."

Actress in a Drama Series: Sandra Oh, "Grey's Anatomy."

Actor in a Comedy Series: Sean Hayes, "Will & Grace."

Actress in a Comedy Series: Felicity Huffman, "Desperate Housewives."

Drama ensemble: "Lost."

Comedy ensemble: "Desperate Housewives."

Lifetime Achievement:

Shirley Temple Black.

"Crash" cast members, from left, Sandra Bullock, Thandie Newton, Matt Dillon, and Jennifer Esposito pose with their awards for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture. They were honored Sunday night at the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. (KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / AP)
Philip Seymour Hoffman won the leading-actor award for his work in "Capote," portraying the late writer Truman Capote during his work on the book "In Cold Blood."