ABC’s freshman ratings sensation Desperate Housewives took two of the top television honors at the 11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, held Saturday, February 5, 2005, at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center. Teri Hatcher, who stars as single mother Susan Mayer on the Sunday-night hit, was named Best Actress in a Comedy Series, and Housewives also won for Best Comedy Ensemble, which included Hatcher as well as cast members Andrea Bowen, Ricardo Antonio, Marcia Cross, Steven Culp, James Denton, Felicity Huffman, Cody Kasch, Eva Longoria, Jesse Metcalfe, Mark Moses, Nicollette Sheridan and Brenda Strong.
Other television recipients of the nude statue known as “The Actor” included the CBS series CSI, which earned Best Dramatic Ensemble for the work of cast members Gary Dourdan, George Eads, Jorja Fox, Paul Guilfoyle, Robert David Hall, Marg Helgenberger, William Petersen and Eric Szmanda. Best Actor in a Drama Series went to the late Jerry Orbach for NBC’s Law & Order, and Best Actress in a Drama Series went to Jennifer Garner for ABC’s Alias. For the second time, Tony Shalhoub, of the USA network’s Monk, was chosen as Best Actor in a Comedy Series. In the Telefilm of Miniseries category, Glenn Close was named Best Actress for Showtime’s The Lion in Winter, and Geoffrey Rush won Best Actor for HBO’s The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.
In the feature film categories, the Fox Searchlight comedy Sideways prevailed in the Ensemble Cast category on the strength of its cast members Thomas Haden Church, Paul Giamatti, Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh. Jamie Foxx was named Best Actor for his performance as singer Ray Charles in Universal’s acclaimed biopic Ray, and Hilary Swank won her first SAG Award for her work in Warner Bros.’ boxing drama Million Dollar Baby. Swank’s Million Dollar Baby castmate Morgan Freeman was named Best Supporting Actor, and Cate Blanchett won Best Supporting Actress for her performance as actress Katharine Hepburn in the Warner Bros./Miramax co-production The Aviator, about the early life of enigmatic billionaire Howard Hughes.