Birdman topped the 21st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, winning best ensemble cast, even though star Michael Keaton was upset by Eddie Redmayne in the most outstanding actor category.
Oscar favorites Julianne Moore, Patricia Arquette and JK Simmons cemented their front-runner status in the ceremony that often serves as a kind of preview to the Academy Awards. (SAG Awards Red Carpet: Jennifer Aniston, Keira Knightley, Julia Roberts Steal the Show)
Mr Keaton led the Birdman cast, including Emma Stone, Edward Norton and Zach Galifianakis, in accepting the top honor from the acting guild, calling the profession "the ultimate team sport."
"Every time I turned around, I ran into another tremendous actor," he said.
Eddie, who played the role of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, was the surprise winner in a category expected to go to Mr Keaton for his career-capping performance as a Hollywood has-been trying to mount a comeback on Broadway. Eddie dedicated his award to sufferers and victims of ALS.
Julianne, widely considered the best actress favorite, won most supporting actress for Still Alice, in which she plays an academic with early-onset Alzheimer's. (In Pics: A-List Red Carpet at the SAG Awards 2015)
Accepting the award for most outstanding supporting actor for his performance as a domineering jazz teacher in Whiplash, Mr Simmons thanked all 49 actors who appear in the drama.
Boyhood star Patricia added the latest in a string of awards, taking the supporting actress honor for her performance, filmed over the course of 12 years.
"I can't tell you what this means to me," she said. "I'm a fourth-generation actor. My family has been committed to acting for over a century, through feast or famine."
The started with a pair of wins for the Netflix prison series Orange Is the New Black, honoring it as best ensemble in a comedy and naming Uzo Aduba most outstanding actress in a comedy series.
Best ensemble cast in a drama series went to Downton Abbey, the second time the series has won the category.
Because actors make up the largest portion of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the SAG Awards are also considered one of the most telling Oscar previews. Last year, the top four winners - Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett, Lupita Nyong'o, Jared Leto - all went on to win Academy Awards after first scooping up SAG awards.
In the last six years, SAG best-ensemble and Academy Award best-picture winners have lined up three times (Argo, The King's Speech and Slumdog Millionaire). Last year, the actors chose American Hustle over eventual Oscar winner 12 Years a Slave.
Two actors who usually reside on the big screen won the SAG awards for performances in a miniseries or TV movie: Mark Ruffalo (for HBO's A Normal Heart) and Frances McDormand (for HBO's Olive Kitteredge). Kevin Spacey (House of Cards), William H Macy (Shameless) and Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder) also collected awards.
Debbie Reynolds, the Singin' in the Rain star, was honored with the SAG lifetime achievement award, which her daughter, Carrie Fisher, presented.
Complete List of Winners:
Films:
Best Cast in Motion Picture: Birdman
Best Actress: Julianne Moore for Still Alice
Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne for The Theory of Everything
Best Actress in Supporting Role: Patricia Arquette for Boyhood
Best Actor in Supporting Role: JK Simmons for Whiplash
Best Stunt Ensemble: Unbroken
SAG Life Achievement Award: Debbie Reynolds
Television:
Best Actor in TV Movie/Miniseries: Mark Ruffalo for The Normal Heart
Best Actress in TV Movie/Miniseries: Frances McDormand for Olive Kitteridge
Ensemble in Drama Series: Downton Abbey
Best Actress in Drama Series: Viola Davis for How To Get Away With Murder
Best Actor in Drama Series: Kevin Spacey for House of Cards
Best Female actor in Comedy Series: Uzo Aduba for Orange is the New Black
Best Male actor in Comedy Series: William H Macy Shameless
Best Ensemble in Comedy Series: Orange is the New Black
Best Stunt Ensemble: Game of Thrones
