Congratulations to Chris Weitz and Demian Birchir on SAG Nomination

The nominations for the annual Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards were just announced. Along with The Golden Globe Awards they are considered to be a OSCAR predictor. Demian Birchir who starred in New Moon director Chris Weitz’s first post Twilight outing, A A Better Life. was nominated as Outstanding Actor. This is quite a feat for a low budget, indie film starring a relatively unknown actor of Mexican descent. Suffice it to say, it was on almost no critic’s predication list.

According to the LA Times:

Demián Bichir, a 48-year-old Mexican actor little-known to American moviegoers, scored a surprise best actor nomination at the SAG Awards on Wednesday morning.

Bichir, who plays an illegal immigrant pursuing the American dream in “A Better Life,” beat out a couple of projected favorites in the category, including “Shame’s” Michael Fassbender and Gary Oldman from “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” Directed by Chris Weitz, “A Better Life” has only grossed $1.8 million at the U.S. box office.

The foreign star was only one of a handful of actors to receive a nomination who had not graced the lists of awards prognosticators. In the lead actress category, nearly all of the nominees were considered shoo-ins, namely Meryl Streep for “The Iron Lady” and Michelle Williams from “My Week with Marilyn,” though it was slightly unexpected that Glenn Close earned a nod for her cross-dressing turn in “Albert Nobbs.”

He is up against stiff competition including perennial favorites George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Leonardo DiCaprio among others.