SAG Winner Predictions: Best Actor in a Leading Role

The nominees: Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises”, Emile Hirsch in “Into the Wild”, Ryan Gosling in “Lars and the Real Girl”, George Clooney in “Michael Clayton”, and Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood”.
Who’s not here: Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd”, most notably, and Oscar’s choice of Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah”.
For your information: Gosling was nominated last year, Clooney was nominated for both “Syriana” and the ensemble of “Good Night, and Good Luck” two years ago (plus a whole host of nominations for his lead and ensemble work on “ER”), and Day-Lewis won back in 2002 for “Gangs of New York”. Depp has two ensemble nominations, a nod for “Finding Neverland”, and a win for “Pirates of the Caribbean”. This is the first nomination for Hirsch, and Mortensen has three nominations for his work in the ensemble cast of the “Lord of the Rings” films. Only Hirsch is nominated twice this year, also in the ensemble category for “Into the Wild”.
Who should win: Mortensen and Hirsch were both great, but this prize should absolutely go to Day-Lewis.
Who will win: This is a lock for Day-Lewis. If anyone else wins, that changes things for the Oscars in a major way.