Oscars calling as Saoirse Ronan and Michael Fassbender get SAG awards nods

Oscar season is heating up and two Irish leading actors have been given the strongest nod yet.

Saoirse Ronan and Michael Fassbender have been nominated for the prestigious Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The ceremony is seen as a pre- cursor to the Academy Awards and an indication of the nominations yet to come.

Ronan is up for the lead actress in a motion picture, for her role as a homesick immigrant in Brooklyn.

Competition

However, she faces stiff competition from the likes of Helen Mirren for her role in Woman In Gold, as well as Cate Blanchett for Carol, Brie Larson for Room, and Sarah Silverman for I Smile Back.

Kerryman Michael Fassbender has been listed for the best actor in a motion picture for his titular role in Steve Jobs.

He faces competition from Eddie Redmayne for The Danish Girl, Bryan Cranston, who received a nod for his portrayal of blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in Trumbo, Johnny Depp, for his role as Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger and Leonardo DiCaprio, who stars in the revenge movie The Revenant.

Both Ronan and Fassbender have been widely tipped to secure nominations for the 88th Academy Awards ceremony on February 28 of next year.

Irish stars are also well represented in the television awards, with both Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey being nominated in the Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Drama Series.

British actors Idris Elba and Mark Rylance also scored nominations for their work in both film and television.

NOMINATIONS

The nominations were announced by Mom actress Anna Faris and Avengers star Anthony Mackie at the SilverScreen Theatre in West Hollywood.

The panel was made up of 2,200 randomly selected members of the union before 116,000 SAG-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) members cast their ballots for the winners.

The 22nd SAG awards will take place in Los Angeles on January 30.

2016 SAG Awards nominees:

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo

Johnny Depp, Black Mass

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett, Carol

Brie Larson, Room

Helen Mirren, Women in Gold

Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Sarah Silverman, I Smile Back

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Christian Bale, The Big Short

Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation

Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Michael Shannon, 99 Homes

Jacob Tremblay, Room

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Rooney Mara, Carol

Rachel McAdams, Spotlight

Helen Mirren, Trumbo

Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Beasts of No Nation

The Big Short

Spotlight

Straight Outta Compton

Trumbo

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Everest

Furious 7

Jurassic World

Mad Max: Fury Road

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones

Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul

Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Rami Malek, Mr. Robot

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

Claire Danes, Homeland

Viola Davis, How To Get Away with Murder

Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

Robin Wright, House of Cards

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

Downton Abbey

Game of Thrones

Homeland

House of Cards

Mad Men

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

Ty Burrell, Modern Family

Louis C.K., Louis

William H. Macy, Shameless

Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory

Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

The Big Bang Theory

Key & Peele

Modern Family

Orange Is The New Black

Transparent

Veep

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie

Idris Elba, Luther

Ben Kingsley, Tut

Ray Liotta, Texas Rising

Bill Murray, A Very Murray Christmas

Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie

Nicole Kidman, Grace of Monaco

Queen Latifah, Bessie

Christina Ricci, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles

Susan Sarandon, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe

Kristen Wiig, The Spoils Before Dying

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series

The Blacklist

Daredevil

Game of Throne

Homeland

The Walking Dead